Dodge
by Miss Dumbledarcy
Summary: The aim of dodgeball is to 'get' the other person, without being 'gotten' yourself. In the recently reunited world of enemies Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy, dodging is becoming a regular occurrence. But is dodgeball ever easier to play in a team?
1. Prologue

**So I watched 'Crazy, Stupid Love' the other night, and Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone made me think of Scorpius and Rose, so I was inspired to write this fanfiction. It starts in a similar sort of way to their relationship but it won't continue that way. Also, it is rated M, but that won't be for a while, it's more to be safe.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER OR CRAZY STUPID LOVE.**

Glancing around the crowded bar/nightclub/whatever, Rose Weasley couldn't help but feel remarkably under dressed. There she was in her jeans, vest top and cardigan, surrounding by girls in short, tight, revealing dresses and high heels, attracting random men to stare at their exposed skin. Rose didn't have any exposed skin, maybe she wasn't under dressed, and maybe she was over dressed. It didn't really matter either way, she didn't really belong here.

Her friend Olivia came back holding two glasses of firewhiskey, and plopped herself down next to Rose.

'Please can we go now?' Rose begged her friend.

'No way, we only just got here. Besides don't you want to celebrate that you are finally a fully-trained Auror? It's pretty big stuff'

'Yeah, it's great, but let's celebrate somewhere else'

'No, Rose. This is fun. Come on, you've been working so hard recently, you must have forgotten how to have it'

Clearly Olivia hadn't known Rose at Hogwarts, or she would know that Rose had never learnt that this was fun. She took a sip of her firewhiskey, and decided to humour her friend. As long as she didn't have to dance, Rose Weasley didn't dance.

X

Scorpius Malfoy pushed open the bar door and surveyed his surroundings. His friends, more like followers were close behind. He let his eyes travel around the room, picking up on all the different girls there were. All the different options he had. He rolled his shoulders back.

'Boys, tonight is going to be a good night'

They laughed and clapped him on the back, and he headed out to the bar.

'One scotch on the rocks with a twist,' he said, the bar girl tossed her hair and giggled, fetching his order quickly and ignoring the other costumers. She placed it on the table, and pushed it towards him, leaning forward in a way that mean Scorpius could see, well, everything.

'What would a sexy young thing like you be doing working, when you could be out having fun?' he asked, flashing a grin. She giggled.

'I'm working to pay my through Healer training,' she told him.

'Oh, so you want to be a Healer. Why's that?' he asked, sipping his drink. He only half-listened to her answer, instead checking out other girls from the corner of his grey eyes.

'Fascinating,' he told her. 'You're fascinating…catch up later?' he offered. She nodded hopefully as he sauntered off, heading towards where his friends were sitting. Some new ones had joined the group so he greeted them. They were all thrilled to see him; everyone knew it would be a fun night if Scorp was here.

'So I guess your money should be in my pocket Scorp. The Canons lost quite badly this weekend didn't they?' said Rick, loudly.

Scorp laughed and got out his wallet, pulled out give galleons and handed them over to Rick one by one.

'Buy me drink?' he added when he was done. Rick laughed and slapped him on the back. Scorp sat down grinning next to Joe. Joe was the odd one out in their group. He was quite, introverted; he didn't like a lot of attention. He was always working hard, the only one in the group whose parents weren't practically millionaires. Despite this difference, Joe was probably the most valued member of the group, excluding Scorpius himself of course.

'Alright Joe?' he said, nudging his friend.

'Alright Scorp?'

'How's life been treating you, mate?'

'Good, yeah good,' he said looking into his drink.

'You ready to get some action yet?'

'Not yet man,' said Joe, who had just come out of a long-term relationship with some bitch that had walked all over him.

'You've got to be ready man,' Scorp told him. 'Put yourself out there, have some fun'

'I don't want to have fun Scorp. Not in the way you mean it. That's not how I roll'

'You,' said Scorp. 'Definitely need another drink.'

Joe laughed and shook his head, but Scorp was already snapping his fingers for a waitress, a different one from earlier, who came running.

'What would you like Sir?'

'Fire-whisky, one for me, and one for my man Joe over here,' he ordered. She nodded.

'Thank you,' Joe called after her. Scorp rolled his eyes, the waitress didn't need thanks – she was getting paid to do this.

'What about her, over there,' said Scorp, pointing to a blonde in a tight green dress. 'She's hot, and she's totally up for it'

'No,' said Joe. 'Thank you,' he added, as the waitress placed their drinks on the table.

'Ok, no blondes…how about her?' he said, pointing to a girl who looked like Nicole something, he couldn't remember her name, but she lad long black hair and a killer body, and she was always on muggle television. She was the sole reason Scorp had taken muggle studies at Hogwarts.

'No, Scorp man, this really isn't'

'How about her,' said Scorp, pointing to another girl, who was sitting with her friend in the corner.

X

'There's a guy pointing at us,' said Olivia, with a giggle.

Rose rolled her eyes. 'I bet he's a twat. Or an asshole. Or both'

'Rose, you are such a pessimist'

'I'm a realist'

But Olivia ignored what she had said and squealed something about them heading over. Rose looked up.

'I know those guys,' she told Olivia. 'I went to Hogwarts with them'

'What are they like?'

'The blonde is a prat,' Rose said, who had all too vivid memories of Scorpius chasing just about every girl in the castle.

'That's fine,' said Olivia, taking a sip of her drink and smiling. 'I prefer his friend anyway'

'Hey,' said the dark-haired boy. 'I'm Joe'

'Hi, I'm Olivia'

'Nice to meet you. So tell me about you,' said Joe, pulling up a chair. He smiled at Rose, but his attention was soon recaptured by Olivia.

'No introduction for us then,' said Scorpius, with an amused and self-satisfied smile on his face. 'We haven't met; I would definitely remember a face as gorgeous as yours'

Rose raised her eyebrows.

'Scorpius Malfoy,' he said, holding out his hand for hers.

'Rose Weasley,' she replied, watching his smirk fall from his face in shock.

'Weasel-bug?' he asked in disbelief, calling her by her old, hated nickname.

'Don't call me that'

'You've done well,' he told her. 'You're looking really fine tonight. I'm not going to lie, I find you very attractive. I just know you would look good under your clothes'

'How would you know that? I'm not dressed like anybody else. You can see barely any of skin….'

'I can barely see any skin yet,' he corrected, with a wink. 'You've changed quite a bit you know'

'You haven't,' she told him bluntly. 'You're still a woman-loving prat'

'Oh, maybe you haven't changed. Tell me what are you up to now?'

'I just qualified as an Auror,' she told him. He nodded.

'Well done,' he said, trailing his fingers along her arm. She raised her eyebrows again, but he just smirked. 'You know, you are one of the only girls in Hogwarts that I never got with, and you're probably one of the prettiest'

'That's ironic,' said Rose, ignoring the goose-bumps his voice was causing.

'Maybe we should change that…' he said, his voice silky.

'I think we should be off,' she said to Olivia, standing abruptly.

'Wow, so soon. Normally it takes me more than two minutes to charm a woman round to mine,' said Scorp, looking up at her with a wink She ignored him, and grabbed Olivia's arm.

'I'll see you Sunday, for lunch,' Olivia confirmed to Joe.

'Yes, at the frog and owl'

Olivia sent one last smile back, as Rose marched her out. As soon as they were out on the street, Rose started muttering about how Scorpius was still a complete prat, but Olivia forced her to stop, seizing her friend's hands and spinning her around.

'A guy did this to you?' asked Rose, as she became dizzy.

'Not just any guy,' said Olivia happily, skipping and beaming as though there was nothing wrong in the world. Rose laughed with her friend; she had heard that one before.

X

'Great call getting us to come over mate,' said Joe happily, patting Scorp on the shoulder.

'Not really, my unbroken streak of pick-ups just broke'

'Really?'

'That girl,' said Scorp. 'Was Rose Weasley'

'No way! Weasel-bug? Are you sure?'

'Yeah'

Joe was silent for a moment. 'Still not interested in you then?'

'I wasn't interested in her; I was just chatting to her so you could get your bird…which you did'

'I did indeed,' said Joe, smiling goofily.

'You have to stop that smile mate. It doesn't look good'

Joe laughed. 'Whatever, you failed to pick up Weasel-bug tonight. I don't think you can give me advice on what to do anymore'

'I could pick up any other girl in this bar. In fact, I'll go get that waitress'

He strode away from Joe with confidence and went to the bar, where he beckoned the girl from earlier. She came forward and he leaned towards her so he could whisper in her ear.

'Do you want to come to my place?' he said.

She paused for a moment, and then nodded.

'Good, I'll be waiting over there for when your shift finishes'

She nodded again and watched as he ambled off, beckoning to Joe to come and join the rest of the party.

'That, my friend, is how it is done'

'You still couldn't get Weasley…'

**Love it or hate it, please review it.**


	2. Chapter 1: Teasing and Tempting

'Morning sleepy head,' called Al, as Rose stumbled out of her bedroom and into the lounge/kitchen of the flat they shared. He was curled up the sofa, reading the prophet and eating some of their grandmother's biscuits.

'Didn't grandma send those over to congratulate me?'

'Yeah,' said Al, Rose glared at him and he shrugged. 'You want one?'

'Are they yours to offer?'

'Yes, they are. You know the rules; I explained them clearly when we bought the flat. What's mine is yours and what's yours is mine'

'I didn't think that counted for cookies,' said Rose, grabbing one and sitting next to him. He snatched the box away and waving his wand sent it to over to the kitchen counter, ignoring Rose's protests. When did cousins get so annoying?

'So funny thing happened last night,' said Rose, after a moment's silence.

'Funny haha or funny weird?'

'Maybe a bit of both,' said Rose, after all the expression on Malfoy's face when he realised that she wouldn't be going home with him was pretty amusing.

'I'm all ears'

'Well, last night Olivia and I were in the One-Legged Witch and Joe Thompson came up and started hitting on her'

'Joe Thompson…NO! REALLY?'

'Wait, it gets better,' said Rose, remembering how Al had always admired Joe, who came top in everything and was still always friendly to be around. He was about the boy in that year that was in Slytherin who was. 'So, Malfoy came up with him, and didn't recognize me, and started hitting on me'

'You're lying,' said Al, shaking his head and laughing.

'I'm not'

'Come on. He was so mean to you at school, he used to tease you tirelessly about your-'

'He did. He came up and he was like "Weasel-bug, you clean up good",' imitated Rose, doing her best to imitate Scorp's smooth drawl.

'He did not say that'

'He said something about "looking fine"…I don't really know, I zoned out and walked off. It was frankly rather sickening'

Al raised his eyebrows, 'You're telling me that you weren't attracted to him at all. He's a pretty handsome guy. Just saying'

'Asshole isn't my type,' Rose told him firmly. Al laughed.

'So there won't be another Hogwarts reunion any time soon?'

'Not if I can help it,' I grimaced.

X

'That. Was. _Such. _A. Good. Night,' squealed Emily, stroking Scorpius's bare chest and over-emphasising every word. 'Wasn't that just, like, such a good night'

No. 'Yes,' lied Scorpius.

'We should do it again,' said Emily brightly.

'We will Emma,' said Scorp, smirking.

'Emily,' she corrected, he closed his eyes as if he was really embarrassed. 'You're so adorable Scorp,' she said, leaning in and kissing him enthusiastically. She half wriggled, half clambered on to his chest as she did so. He instinctively wrapped his arms around the small of her bare back. She moaned and moved pushed away the duvet that had been separating their bodies.

Scorp wasn't sure he wanted this. He wasn't really that into her. She kissed him passionately again, and he thought, 'oh what the hell?' She was hot. She wasn't quiet Weasley hot…wait, did he just think that gross. This was Weasel-bug he was thinking about. While he was in bed. He looked at Emily and tried to push the red head out of his mind and his hands reached for his playmate's ass.

X

'So what do you feel like doing today?' asked Al.

'What are the options?'

'We could go shopping, it's nearly Lily's birthday and I still haven't bought her anything'

'You mean I still haven't picked out something for you to buy her, right?'

'Yeah, pretty much,' said Al, dodging the pillow that Rose threw at his head.

'We can do that. As long as I get to have a long shower to rub the muck that has infected me from talking to Malfoy'

'Cool, also my friend Paul is opening his bar tonight and I said we'd go'

'We?' Rose repeated, raising an eyebrow and flopping back on the sofa in exasperation.

'Yeah, come on. He's worried there won't be enough hot girls there. We can get you something hot when we go shopping'

'I already own 'hot' stuff'

'Whatever you say Weasel-bug.' This time Al didn't dodge in time, and the pillow hit his face quite hard.

X

'Bye now,' said Scorp, practically forcing Emily out of his apartment. She was a nice girl, but she was bit…intense…clingy…over-dramatic. He didn't really like that much.

'See you Scorp, see you soon,' she said, licking her lips and winking. Add desperate to that list. He closed the door quickly before she could try and kiss him again. Then he went to shower. He stood in there for ages, just letting hot water pour over his tanned and toned body. Then he wrapped a fluffy towel around his waist and padded into the kitchen to have breakfast.

He was famished; after all, he'd done quite a bit of exercise, on an empty stomach. He couldn't have had breakfast an hour ago with Emily, because she would have wanted some. And then she would have had to stay, and he would have had to enjoy her company and make conversation when she wasn't naked. And he just didn't know if he could do that.

He wrote a quick note to Joe, sending it on his owl who hooted happily to see him.

_We need to find a new place to hang out for a bit…_

Joe replied pretty quickly, but Scorp could imagine his smirk as he read his note.

_There's a new bar opening tonight, check it out?_

Scorpius promised her would, and Joe promised that he would get the guys to come. A new bar was just what he needed. There would be lots of new girls he hadn't met, and a lot of them would be hot. Hell, maybe some might even be as hot as Weasel-bug. Wait. He had just thought about her. Again. He had to stop that…

X

'So what was the real reason you rejected Scorp yesterday?' asked Al.

'I told you, asshole is not my type'

'Yeah, but he was hardly asking you to marry him. You could have just had some fun with him'

'I could never have fun with Scorp,' she said determinedly, flashing back to her school days.

'_Weasel-bug,' cried the thirteen year old Scorp. Rose shut her book and looked up, meeting his grey eyes which were filled with malice._

'_Please leave me alone Scorpius,' she begged. 'I am having such a bad day'_

'_I'm here to make it better'_

'_I don't believe you'_

'_I am. He wants to see you'_

'_Who?'_

'_You know who I mean. Lover boy,' said Scorp, winking at Rose. Rose's stomach fluttered nervously, wondering for a second if Scorp was telling the truth._

'_No he doesn't,' she said, hoping that Scorp would look her in the eyes and contradict her. Which he did. She followed him as he led her out to the grounds of Hogwarts._

'_Where is he?' she said quietly, not spotting anyone around other than other members of the Malfoy Pack._

'_He's right there, with his new girlfriend,' said Scorp, pointing him out with venom and relishing her pain. Rose blinked back the tears as she saw him, oblivious to her stares, pulling the blonde Slytherin towards him tenderly._

'_Are you alright Weasel-bug?' asked Scorp, feigning concern._

'_Just shut the fuck up Malfoy,' said Rose, turning back to the castle and storming there. She heard Scorp yell something after her, and suddenly she found soap bubbling out of her mouth, she was chocking and she fell to her knee, desperately trying to catch her breath back. She turned around to glare at them with hatred and rage. Scorp knelt in front of her, bringing his face an inch from hers._

'_He will never want you,' he whispered cruelly._

'_Scorp, leave her alone,' said Joe, pulling his friend back._

'_Thanks,' Rose managed to pant out to Joe. He looked at her sadly, before Malfoy called him over and they walked away, leaving Rose alone, with a soapy mouth and a broken heart._

'Bastard,' she muttered under her breath, snapping back to the present.

'What was that?' asked Al.

'Nothing, I think Lily would like this,' she said, holding up a pretty, floral top.

'Yeah, it's nice,' said Al. 'Let's get it'

Rose smiled in response, and Al looked at his watch. 'We need to get home and get ready'

Rose nodded, she was dreading going out tonight, how did she end up being out two nights in a row? When it was her least favourite thing to do? Hopefully, tonight there would be no Malfoy though; maybe it would be more fun…

X

Scorp admired his reflection in the mirror. He was wearing dark jeans, and a grey shirt that was messily un-tucked in the way that made it look like it was natural, when really it had taken him about five minutes to perfect that. The shirt was unbuttoned enough not to make him look stupid and showy, but enough for girls to get a good glimpse of his toned chest. He slapped some cologne on his face and grabbed the old jacket that he took everywhere. He slung it over his shoulder and strutted out of his apartment, just as the door bell rang.

'Hey Joe,' he said. 'Hey Rick, hey Henry'

'Hey Scorp,' they all replied, knuckle touching him in turn.

'You look slick tonight,' Rick told him, an envious note in his voice.

'Thanks man, you look pretty slick yourself'

'Thanks…did you hear Joe is leaving early?'

'What? Joe? No way'

'He doesn't want to be hung over for his date tomorrow'

'What a douche,' laughed Scorp, slapping Joe over the shoulder. 'You've always been a bit like that Joe'

'What respecting women? You should try it Scorp, they aren't just toys you know'

'Sure I know that,' dismissed Scorp.

'How was the barmaid?'

'Clingy, desperate, and surprisingly not that great in bed'

'Tough luck man,' said Joe, sarcastically. 'Maybe you should have got to know her first, and then you would have known all that before you slept with her. Then we wouldn't have to go to a different bar'

'Mate, this is going to be epic'

Joe raised his eyebrows doubtingly, and Scorp slapped his shoulder. Joe wasn't the biggest fan of change. That was one of his biggest problems when his ex had broken up with him, adjusting to single life. Scorp was sure in his heart of hearts that Joe wasn't over it yet, but at least he was making steps in the right direction. Though with Weasel-bug's friend. Ugh, he was thinking about her again. He pushed her out of his mind, as he entered the bar, scoping out the best table instantly.

X

'Are you sure I look okay?' Rose asked her cousin, examining myself in the mirror.

'You look amazing. So good in fact that I know I'm going to have go over-protective cousin on some guy's ass'

Rose laughed nervously. She had to admit she looked hot, she just wasn't sure if it was her look. She had a tight black dress on, low cut enough to show some cleavage but not so low-cut that it gave everything away. It hugged her skinny waist and flared out at her hips. She turned and examines the large stretch of leg that was visible, noticing how it was lengthened by the pale peep toes. She grabbed an old denim jacket. Al raised his eyes at her. Whatever, she wasn't completely ruining the look and she wanted to be comfortable.

'Ok,' she said, as she did a final check for clumps of mascara, eyeliner smudges or signs that her lipstick had left her lips. 'Let's go'

Al held the door open for her, and linked his arm with hers as they walked to Paul's. They paused outside the door and Rose tucked the strands that had fallen out her long ponytail back behind her ears.

'You look fine,' Al assured her. 'Every guy in the room is going to be jealous when I walk in with you'

She giggled and he put his hand around her waist and took her to the bar.

X

'Hot girl alert,' said Rick to Scorpius.

'Where?'

'Just there, I think she's with that guy though'

'Oh I see, kind of. I can see him, but I can only see her legs. He's obscuring my vision'

'Just as well, you couldn't get another guys girl'

'We'll see,' said Scorp, 'look I think he's going to talk to that guy there. I'm going in'

'Dude, I called it first'

'Fine,' said Scorp, in a bored voice. 'Are you actually going to go over there?'

Rick looked slightly taken back that Scorp had backed down. 'Nah, you can have her man'

Scorp smirked, and got up. 'Watch and learn my friend'

He sauntered over to the girl and tapped her bare shoulder.

X

Rose felt the tap on her shoulder and turned around. Scorp was standing there, hands in his pockets, looking completely comfortable and laid back. This must be a joke.

'Weasel-bug,' he said as he recognised her, his grey eyes widening in shock and his smirk momentarily disappearing.

'Can't you stay away from me Malfoy?' she moaned.

'Well, I could but I wouldn't want to deprive you of my company, that would be cruel,' the smirk was back on his face and he looked confident as ever.

'You have to be cruel to be kind'

'Maybe I don't want to be kind. Maybe kind is too…good for me,' he said, taking a step towards her and grazing her with his eyes. 'I don't think I could be good…'

His fingers stroked her thigh really slowly, caressing them and he looked up and met her eyes with a smile. She stared back at him, momentarily frozen. Then she came to her senses and slapped his hand away.

'Weasel-bug, I'm impressed I didn't think you'd be the type of girl who'd like it rough…but I can play that'

Rose scowled at him, but was unable to think of a quick comeback. She stared at Scorp with hatred, and considered punching him. Then she decided to do it. But he was too quick for her grabbing her hand and stepping towards her dangerously.

'Hey, get off my cousin,' said Al, who had just returned. Scorp spun around rapidly.

'Potter, how are you?'

'Malfoy. Really?'

'Oh I'm sorry, are all the memories of me knocking you off your broom in Quidditch coming back to me'

'Yeah…almost as strongly as winning that last match in seventh year'

Perfect. A distraction, Rose started to sneak away, but suddenly an arm was around her stopping her moving, like a shepherds crook, completely inescapable. Scorp pulled her towards him, and being unused to heels, she stumbled slightly and ended up falling into his arms. He raised his eyebrows and stared down at her, or more accurately down her dress. Damn it for being so revealing. She could feel herself going red from his hungry gaze.

'Don't worry Weasel-bug, girls fall over me all the time. You're not the first, and I doubt you will be the last'

Rose stamped on his foot in response.

'Don't do that,' he said, as though her were telling her off. 'It's not polite…which reminds me, I'm not being polite. Albus, would you like to join our table, bringing your delightful cousin with you'

Al hesitated. 'Yes, we would'

'Cool, we're over there. I'll get us all some drinks'

'Al what are you doing?' whisper-shouted Rose as they walked towards the table Scorp had pointed out. She felt Malfoy's hand tap her ass as she walked away from him.

'I think we should have some fun,' said Al.

'What kind of fun, because I've got to tell you, that sounds really dodgy'

'I think you should push Malfoy, do a little flirting, a little seducing, be the sexy girl you know you can be and then leave him at the end of the night. How does that sound to you?'

Rose grinned and clapped him on the shoulder and he hugged her, then they headed over to the table.

'Hello again,' said Joe, his deep voice sounding thoroughly surprised to see her again. 'Hi Albus'

'Hey Joe,' said Al, knuckle-bumping the only member of Malfoy's posse who he considered to be of more value to the world than an earthworm, he smiled at the others who were scowling.

'What are you doing here Weasel-bug?' asked Rick.

'Yeah, you're not exactly welcome,' added Henry, Rose remembered that James, Al's older brother, had put him in the hospital wing once for being rude to her. That was awkward.

'Scorp invited us,' Rose informed them. They frowned, but didn't dispute it. Merlin forbid they go against their ring leader. Speak of the devil; Scorp was sauntering back with a tray full of drinks. The boys all did shots, and then Scorp put his hand on Rose's thigh.

'I have a special drink for you,' he told her, huskily.

'Trying to get me drunk Malfoy?' Rose asked, catching Al's eye and nodding slightly; he looked pretty pleased. She put her hand on his thigh and leaned in. 'I don't think that's what good boys do'

He laughed nervously. 'I've already told you that I am not a good boy. Now drink up'

Rose took it, and downed it one. She was going to need as much alcohol in her system as possible if she was going to get through tonight.

'Weasel-bug. I am impressed,' said Scorp, his eyebrows raised. 'I wouldn't have thought you were the type'

'Appearances can be deceptive,' she drawled, patting his knee. 'That was good'

Scorp laughed nervously again, unhinged by the sudden change in Weasley. She leaned back and placed her legs over his lap.

'What are you doing?' he asked.

'Sorry,' she giggled, beginning to move her legs. 'I guess that alcohol went to my head. I couldn't take the risk of getting some disease from touching you'

He grabbed her legs as they slid slowly off his lap. 'Be a dare-devil,' he said, with a wolfish smile. Rose felt her stomach flutter nervously. No. That was not right; she was playing Malfoy he wasn't playing her. But as he traced circles over her legs, she wasn't so sure.

X

By the end of the night, it was just Malfoy, Rose and Al. The latter was chatting to Paul, as Rose nestled onto Scorpius' lap. He kissed her shoulder gently and up her neck, but she turned her head before he reached her lips.

'Don't do that,' he said, pulling her body closer to his. 'You'll be begging for it later'

'I don't think I will'

'You will, when we're at mine, on my lovely big bed,' he whispered, his breath tickling her ear. She felt the explosion of just about everything in her stomach. She leaned towards him slowly, and seductively…

At that moment Al came over. 'Ready to go home Rose?'

'You bet,' she said, hopping of Scorp's lap, without a second glace. Just managing to achieve that.

'See you around Malfoy. SO sorry to reject your 'little' offer,' she said, with a wink, before flicking her hair, pushing out her chest and walking away, hips swishing teasingly.

Scorp swore beneath his breath and tried to convince himself that he wouldn't have had Weasel-bug if she had begged…but deep down he knew he wanted her. And he would have her one day, if it was the last thing he did…

**Hope you guys enjoyed that chapter, I'm really enjoying writing this. Sorry it took so long to update by the way, that was due to some internet trouble (understatement of the century) but it shouldn't happen again.**

**Thanks to everyone who story alerted, and even bigger thank you to you guys you reviewed: ****Fay-Io****, ****lynnnnyl****, ****TeamSethGroupie17**** and banana175. Your comments all made my day.**

**Let me know what you thought!**


	3. Chapter 2: Schemes and Stakes

"She rejected you again?" repeated Joe, amongst his chuckles. Scorp scowled at his friend's reaction. It had taken a lot to be able to tell this stuff to Joe, to admit that he wasn't invincible. Joe was the only one he felt comfortable doing this with.

"It's not funny Joe," he growled.

"It is, though," said Joe easily. "Lighten up mate; it's probably about time your ego got taken down a peg or two."

"Oh shut up," said Scorp, shoving his friend slightly harder than necessary. "How do I get her?"

"You're coming to me for advice? I'm still an emotional train-wreck."

"Yeah, I know. But considering Rick and the others don't get girls ever…"

"Harsh Scorp!"

"I know."

There was a pause. Joe sighed. "If you want to get her, you need to show dedication, don't act as though it's a one night thing. That doesn't mean never touch her or anything like that…just act like it's more than something physical"

"Solid advice…what if I want her to beg?"

"I don't know Scorp, I'm not as evil as you," Joe sighed, shaking his head.

"Alright… Alright, you've done well…How was your date?"

"It was okay, I guess…"

"Are you going to see her again?"

"I don't know. She's a lovely girl, and I really would like to…but I just don't think it's the right time for me. I think it's too soon."

"You are such a girl," Scorp informed him, but Joe just shook his head.

X

"How was that thing you and Al went to on Saturday night? I heard you tried to seduce Joe's friend?"

"Al," Rose groaned. "He's such a chatterbox…anyway, yes I suppose I did, but only for the point of leaving him at the end, he's such an idiot."

Olivia nodded, pressing her lips together in an attempt to get the lip-gloss spread to every corner. Rose turned around and leaned on to the ledge of the sink. Which was slightly wet, from someone's obvious hurry when washing their hands.

"Speaking of Joe: how was the date?"

"It was alright. I really like him, Rose, but he doesn't seem ready."

"Well, if you push it, it will just take him in the opposite direction."

"But if I leave it, he'll just escape off into the distance," said Olivia, flicking her hair back and pouting at her mirror image.

"It's a tough call."

"I don't know what to do," wailed Olivia. "Maybe we could meet as friends, in a group…"

"I will not be being part of that group. No doubt Malfoy will be part of it," Rose said, rolling her eyes. Seeing Malfoy again was not on her list of things to do. Definitely not.

"You have to Rose. You're my friend," Olivia begged.

"Nope. No way."

"Please?"

"What are you even going to do? Just send an owl to Joe asking to meet in a group, that's not going to look desperate at all."

"I don't want to look desperate."

"Even though you are," Rose chuckled, though her laughter was cut short by the freezing cold water that Olivia flicked onto her face. Rose reached for the tap.

"Don't even think about it,"

"Too late," she said, splashing water all down Olivia's top.

"Rose!" moaned Olivia. "That was so un-called for."

"You splashed me."

"Because you were rude!"

"Fine, I'm sorry. I owe you. What do you want?"

Olivia smiled in response, and Rose began to mentally kick herself for what she had just said…

X

"Dude, I just got an owl from Olivia," said Joe, concerned lines appearing on his handsome face. He ran his hand through his dark hair as he opened it. Scorp sat still, and watched Joe read it, his eyes widening in surprise and confusion.

"What does it say?"

"It says we should all hang out in a group Wednesday night, because Rose wants to see you…"

"Ah, I knew she couldn't stay away from me," said Scorp, throwing a crisp into the air, and catching it smoothly in his mouth. Joe raised his eyebrows, but said nothing.

"This should be fun," said Scorp, smirking confidently.

"We're not going," said Joe, leaning forward and writing a reply.

"Yes we are," replied Scorp, staring at his friend in disbelief.

"No," said Joe, half way through the word "Sorry". Suddenly, he felt the full weight of Scorp, as his friend rugby tackled him off the chair and onto the ground.

"What the fuck mate?" he demanded.

"We are going Joe. It's just a bit of fun."

"Mate, I can't lead Olivia on. I know I'm not ready."

"Well, get ready mate…come on, please. For me?"

"Fine, but you owe me…again"

"You know I do enough for you just by being your friend," said Scorp, flicking his pale hair off his face as he offered Joe a hand up. Joe snorted with laughter, before grabbing Scorp's hand to be pulled to his feet.

"I'm not sure about this," he confessed.

"I am," said Scorp firmly. "Now write this…"

X

Rose was furious. She had spent the last two days trying to think of an excuse on why she couldn't make tonight and all without success. She did not have dragon pox because she had been at work today, she did not have paperwork because her desk was next to Olivia's and empty, and she was not allergic to Malfoy because _apparently _you couldn't be allergic to a person. Though Rose disagreed with the latter. Olivia on the other hand, was a ball of excitement, and had invited some other girls to meet them there. They were getting ready at Olivia's place, because Al had a date over that night. This meant that Olivia was helping Rose choose to what to wear.

Actually, this meant Olivia was choosing what Rose wore.

Which in a way was good, because Rose couldn't decide what to wear herself, she was partially torn by the fact she wanted to show Malfoy how much she had changed since his bullying days and make him regret being so harsh, but equally, she knew Malfoy was a pervert, and wasn't comfortable letting his eyes graze her over and over again.

Eventually, it had been decided that Rose would wear a navy strappy top, over her white jeans. After much convincing, Olivia managed to get her out of her trainers but couldn't manage to get her to wear heels, especially not after she had fallen on Malfoy last time. When Olivia had changed into her white blouse and red jeans it was time to go, so the girls walked together to the restaurant that they were meeting everyone in.

"Wait what if we're too early? They can't come in if we've been waiting," said Olivia to Rose.

"Alright, calm down. We'll just walk around the dark, cold streets in a circle for another few minutes," Rose answered sarcastically, but soon wished she hadn't because she was taken up on that suggestion. They wandered the streets for a while, looking at two boys who had clearly had a bit too much to drink, and looked far too young to be doing so. As she watched them, she saw them head in to another two men, though these were clearly older. They weren't bad looking…

Then she realised with a jolt it was Malfoy and Joe, and mentally told herself off. She looked at Olivia who hadn't noticed them, and tried to communicate what she had seen with her silently, though when she turned to glance at the boys she realised they were out of sight.

"Where do you think you're going Weasel-bug?" asked Malfoy, wrapping his strong arms around her waist from behind. Rose squealed in shock, and then dug her elbows back into his stomach, forcing him backwards off of her.

"Anywhere, as long as it is away from you."

"Rose jokes," said Olivia, frowning at her friend's quick temper.

"Not very well though," said Scorp.

"You're lucky you're not unconscious right now Malfoy. I could have gone fully trained Auror on your ass."

Scorp snorted and ignored her.

"Why are you walking the wrong way?" asked Joe, having given Olivia a quick peck on the cheek.

"We got lost," said Rose quickly, before Olivia could make up a more far-fetched and much less believable lie.

"Well, at your service," said Joe, giving a tiny bow. Scorp looked at him in embarrassment. The girls giggled, and Olivia blushed as Joe offered her his arm, shooting Malfoy a look. One that Rose couldn't interpret, because she wasn't part of that friendship. The couple walked ahead and Rose and Scorp stayed staring at one another for a few moments.

"Come along then," said Scorp.

"I'm not a dog Malfoy," Rose spat, angry at his patronizing tone.

"Really? Because you sure as hell look like one."

"You're not funny," she replied shoving him angrily.

"Funnier than you."

"And a hell of a lot more juvenile…" said Rose, under her breath.

"What was that Weasel-bug?"

"Nothing," she said sweetly, but he grabbed her waist and pulled her around so she was leaning on the front of his chest. He leaned his head down towards her.

"I think you said something…"

"Your hearing's going," said Rose, hoping that was true and that he couldn't her abnormally fast heart rate.

"Is it?" he whispered, pushing a strand of her hair out of her face and behind her ear. He leaned towards her just a little bit.

"Definitely," she said, kicking his shin and pushing him away, eventually ending up walking with a good distance apart. Far enough that he wouldn't be able to grab her again, close enough that they didn't look like complete weirdoes walking as far apart as possible. By this point, Olivia and Joe had gone into the restaurant.

"So have you had a good day?"

"What?" asked Rose.

"And you think my hearing is going," said Scorp with an eye-roll. "I said how was your day?"

"It was good," Rose said slowly. There was a silence.

"Now you ask about mine," prompted Scorp.

"How was your day?"

"Good," he said happily. Rose took a step closer and put the back of her hand on his head.

"Weasley, what are you doing?" he asked.

"You're being friendly, I thought you might be sick…sicker than normal that is."

"I assume you mean sick in the way that it means cool."

"Obviously," said Rose, voice dripping with sarcasm. Malfoy opened the door for Rose, revealing the dimly-lit and warm restaurant.

"You know Weasley, I could get used to you."

X

Scorpius had noticed the little smile that had danced momentarily on Weasel-bug's full lips when he had opened the door for her. So he went out of his way to make sure he did similar things, he pulled out her chair for her, with a smirk noticing that they were sitting opposite one another, at the end of the table. Rick sat on his right and another girl sat next to Weasel-bug. She sized him up as he approached, and when he sat down, it was a moment before he could feel her foot running up and down his leg as she introduced herself as Sasha.

Weasel-bug, Scorpius noticed, was not looking to happy to be sitting by Sasha.

"So what do you do Scorpius?" she drawled, fluttering her eyelashes at him, rather obviously.

"I work for the ministry," he told her.

"Oh how exciting."

"Anything but," he told her. "Actually, Rick here works with me…"

"That's cool," said Sasha dismissively. "So what exactly do you do?"

Rick rolled his eyes. Looks like it was going to be the Scorpius show again…made a change. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Weasel-bug scowling. He caught her eye and threw a sympathetic look, and she hesitated but after a moment returned a small smile. Scorp noticed and glanced at her too, and her eyes fell straight to her lap. When she looked up again, Scorp was still looking at her. He sent her a smile and raised his eyebrows and she stuck her tongue out childishly. Malfoy laughed, and Sasha's heavily made-up eyes narrowed at Rose viciously.

"You know Rose, we should go shopping some time," she said, a catty smile forming.

"I don't like shopping much for myself," Rose confessed. "Fashion isn't really my thing."

"Well, obviously."

"Sorry, what was that supposed to mean?" said Rose, her head tilting and her eyes meeting Sasha's begging for a challenge.

"Just what you're wearing today is hardly…in…so to speak."

"I like what Rose wears," interrupted Scorpius, surprising even himself. Both girls turned to look at him, as did Rick.

"You do?" asked Sasha, with disbelief.

"Yeah," said Scorp, shrugging. Rose sent him a weak smile, though it was slightly tinged with confusion. Which was fair enough, seeing as Scorp had spent the entirety of their school years commentating on everything that was wrong with what she wore. Sure, she didn't dress like that anymore, but still…it just seemed wrong coming from Scorp's mouth.

"Well, I don't think it works for everyone,' said Sasha.

"No probably wouldn't work for you," said Rose, with a small smile curling at her lips.

Scorpius turned and left the girls to their bitchiness, it wasn't wise to get involved.

"Mate, you were just nice to Weasel-bug…did you get her the other night?"

"No Rick. Not yet, I'm just enjoying the challenge."

"Oh, so what you said was all part of the plan?"

"Of course, Rick," lied Scorpius. "Who do you think I am?"

"I was worried you were turning into a Joe," joked Rick. "Loved up and gentlemanly all the time."

"Don't joke," said Scorp, feeling a slight sweat break out. He quickly veered the conversation to a manlier topic. Quidditch. This managed to stall Rick's attention for a while, until the waitress came and took their order. Afterwards when they began to resume their conversation, Rose leaned in and joined in.

"Chudley Canons could win this time."

"Weasel-bug, you don't know what you're talking about," laughed Scorp.

"I do, we have Thompson. I reckon he could win it for us, he's a world class seeker."

"He's not good enough to make the Canons decent," said Rick. "They have no chance."

"Rick's right. The Tornadoes have it in the bag this year," Scorp told Rose.

"You're wrong," she challenged.

"No, I'm always right, I think you'll find."

"You're wrong this time."

"I'm not."

"A bet?"

"What kind of bet?" asked Scorp lazily, though his attention was picking up.

"What do you want?"

"Oh Weasel-bug, you do not want him to answer that," said Rick with a booming laugh. He received a glare from Rose for the use of her old nickname, and one from Scorp for interrupting the flow of banter. He was silent after that.

"What do you want?" Rose repeated.

"You," said Scorp honestly.

"I'm not selling myself like that," said Rose leaning back.

"You don't have faith in the Canons? Weasel-bug, it's like a consolation prize. Lose the bet, have some fun."

"Couldn't have fun with you Malfoy. How about two galleons?"

"Is that how much you think you're worth? Because I think you're worth far, far more than that"

"Do you want to bet or not?"

"I have money Weasel-bug."

"So that's a no then?"

"Alright…here's the deal. Canons win, you get three galleons. Canons lose, I get a kiss."

Rose stared at him in horror.

"Come on Weasel-bug, it's just one kiss."

"Fine," said Rose, holding out her hand for him to shake, which he did quickly and firmly. As their hands parted Scorp added.

"You said a kiss. But we didn't specify where."

"Idiot," said Rose, debating whether to pull out her wand on him or to just leave it there. She decided on the latter, and she enjoyed the satisfaction of watching the smirk fall from Malfoy's face when she didn't do anything. Now that was a hell of a lot more satisfying than jinxing him. She glanced down the table; Olivia and Joe were flirting like crazy, so maybe he had changed his mind. Olivia caught her stare and gave her a little wave. She grinned in response.

"I like how much you love your friend," Scorp observed, his foot edging towards her calf.

"Um…thanks."

"It's really cool."

"You do know you're slightly creepy, right?" she asked, he laughed and ran his foot up and down, caressing up to her knee.

"Creepy makes it sound like you don't want the attention?"

"I don't."

"Oh really?" he asked, giving her a challenging smile. Her stomach turned with nerves, and excitement. "You know Weasel-bug, I think you are lying."

"Oh do you?"

"Yes I do. I think that you want me to take you to mine, so I can make you feel better than you've ever felt in your life."

"I know you're wrong," lied Rose. "I would rather die than come to the rat's nest that is your house."

"Harsh words, Weasel-bug. Especially considering that you will be coming to mine afterwards."

"Why are you so confident?"

"Because Olivia agreed to it," said Scorp. His face broke into a beam. "She didn't tell you did she?"

"I'm going to kill her," muttered Rose, throwing a mutinous glare at her friend, who was too busy laughing at something Joe had said to notice.

X

The evening ended eventually. Or at least it ended for everyone except Scorp, Rick, Joe, Rose and Olivia, who were part of the party heading back to Scorp's. They travelled by Floo Network, and Rose made sure she ignore Malfoy's requests not to carry the mess from the fire into the apartment.

"You'll be cleaning that later," he told her, nodding at the mess.

"Don't be sexist."

"I'm not. I'm being fair." He mixed up some cocktails and served them around. They were quite impressively made, a bright crimson colour, like a phoenix, and they bubbled gently, with a white vapour swirling off them. He always had been an exhibitionist.

'Scorp, this looks deadly, man,' laughed Rick, who was already slightly on the tipsy side.

'They are,' he said, raising his eyebrows in challenge.

'I'll pass,' said Rose.

'Oh no, you have to at least try one,' said Joe. 'Scorp makes the best cocktails."

"Alright. Just one."

X

Just one became just two. Just two became three. Three became, oh who gives a damn and it ended with Rose pretty giddy. So giddy she didn't notice that Rick and Joe both went home. Olivia was looking at her watch in concern.

"I need to get her home," she said, worrying and biting her lip.

"She can stay here," Scorp suggested, lounging on the sofa.

"What kind of friend do you think I am? I'm not about to leave my friend off her face with a guy I don't even know."

"I would never do that…but fair enough, you could stay too."

"I don't think so."

"Well you can hardly move her can you?"

"True. Alright. I'm going to apparate home, get some stuff and come back. I'll only be gone ten minutes, but no funny business"

"Please," said Scorp. "I last far longer than ten minutes."

She rolled her eyes, before disappearing with a pop, leaving Scorp along with the happy Rose.

"You're pretty drunk aren't you?" he said.

"No," she giggled. He rolled his eyes, and she scooted closer.

"What are you doing?"

"I want to touch your face," she told him, placing one hand on his cheek.

"Why?"

"Because I want you, Scorpius."

He laughed uneasily, and in the next second her lips crashed down on his. She pulled away with in an instant.

"Oh,' she said.

"Oh?" he repeated. Then she was sick. Scorp reacted instinctively, picking her up and carrying her to the kitchen sink where he held back her hair as she vomited the contents of her dinner. He stroked her back, as she began to cry, and when she finally stopped he pulled her into his chest and hugged her.

"Come on, drink this," he said handing her some water, and then giving her some bread to nibble on. She seemed to sober up considerably, but she was still weak and in no state to be left alone. He carried her to his bed and tucked her in, that sat on edge and talked to her about nothing in particular, in an attempt to stop her from falling asleep.

There was pop from the hall.

"Where are you?" called Olivia.

"The bedroom," Scorp yelled back.

"You had better be joking," said Olivia, angrily. But when she stormed in she stopped.

"What is that smell?"

"Rose has been unwell. Um, she can sleep in one my shirts, I don't want her to stay like that. They're in that wardrobe."

Olivia stared at him. Was this the same guy who Rose called arrogant and cocky without any issue?

"Thank you," she said, softly, kissing him on the cheek.

"It's fine. Um, I'll be on the sofa if you need anything."

"Scorp, you're a good guy. I'll make sure she knows it," she told him.

"Thank you."

**Hello lovely readers!**

**Thank you so much to all of you, especially to: Banana175, Fay-Io, MsEan, Lynnnnyl, Lynch26, Anon (you know who you are), Anonima15 and CrimsonBludger83. Every time I get a review, I do a happy dance, because I'm really sad like that, and they're all so sweet. Also feel free to suggest things, Anon has helped with me with my grammar, (which I hope was better this time?) and CrimsonBludger83 had a wicked idea for a chapter, which I will almost definitely be incorporating, and I will let you know and make sure to give credit where credit is due when I do so. **

**Hope you enjoyed that last chapter…let me know what you think!**

**XXX**


	4. Chapter 3: Soap Suds and Seduction

Feeling dreary Rose opened her eyes, inhaled and rolled over in the soft layers of the duvet. Then the hangover kicked in. She groaned, and closed her eyes again. Then she noticed what she was wearing. She was not wearing her usual over-sized t-shirt and pants, but an expensive looking shirt, which was now crumpled from her pattern of sleep. The shirt smelt clean, but underneath there was an underlying scent of irresistible cologne. Rose lay there smelling the shirt for a bit, because honestly, it smelt amazing.

"Merlin, what am I doing?" she thought after a moment, remembering that she wasn't actually sure who's shirt this was, why she was wearing it or whose bed this was…She thought back to the night, most of it was a blur, but she remembered coming to Scorp's and drinking…Scorp. This was almost definitely Scorp's.

Rose swore. She had ended up in bed with Malfoy…hell; she must have had a LOT to drink. Her headache only seemed to confirm that. She wandered into the kitchen, relieved to find that Scorp's shirt was long enough that she looked decent…not that it matter, Malfoy had clearly seen it all before.

"Hangover Potion?" he asked, looking around from a desk that was in the corner.

"Please," said Rose, the pain of her head causing her to forget all hostility towards him, only temporarily of course.

He obliged, headed over to a cupboard and bought out a flask. He threw it up with a spin, and caught with the other hand, his wink cut short by Rose's scowl.

"Lighten up, Weasel-bug. It might never happen."

"It already did."

He laughed, but realised she was serious…

"What was it?" he asked tentatively.

"Don't act like you don't know."

"I genuinely have no idea."

"Scorp, you blatantly do. You're the one who would have instigated it, I'm sure."

"Now I'm really confused. Rose, just tell me what's going on"

Whether it was the use of her first name, or his grey, pleading eyes, Rose gave in.

"I fucking slept with you!"

There was a silence for a moment, and then Scorp burst into laughter. Rose was furious, if she had a wand in her hand at that moment, Scorpius would probably lose his manhood within the next couple of seconds.

"It's not funny."

"Weasel-bug, it is. We didn't have sex."

"Scorpius, come off it. I'm not stupid. I know we did."

"What was I like then?"

Rose bit the word 'mediocre' off her tongue. She genuinely was hoping that Scorp was telling the truth and that they hadn't…but part of her was cautious, this was the sort of messing around that he would have done with her at school.

"I don't remember," she said, honestly.

"That proves it Weasel-bug. No matter how drunk you were, you would have remembered me, I guarantee it.

"What makes you so sure?" she challenged. Electricity seemed to spark through the room, at an almost tangible level, as Scorp took a step closer to her.

"Well, Weasel-bug, people have told me."

"Oh yeah, what have they told you?"

"They've told me that they like the way I touch them, slowly and softly, as though I can't believe how lucky I am and how I'm cherishing the moment forever," began stroking her thigh, and running his hands up the tail of his shirt.

"They've told me that they like the way I kiss their neck, as though we have forever." He pulled her closer and kissed her neck, softly and slowly, aware that he was making her melt inside.

"They've told me that they like how well-endowed I am, how I make them scream like they've never screamed before," he whispered, his lips so close to her ear, that his warm breath tickled her, goose-bumps were rising up her pale arms.

"They've told you a lot of lies," said Rose, hearing the tremor in her own voice.

"Actions speak louder than words," declared Scorp, pulling her towards him by the shirt. He gently undid one button and began to kiss her, he kissed the skin that he had just exposed, he kissed her shoulder bones, and he kissed her neck again. Rose closed her eyes and tried to focus on anything but what was happening, but even she couldn't deny that she wanted him.

She opened her eyes and met his, the blue and the grey, as he leaned in so close that their lips were less than a centimetre apart. Rose began to tilt her head upwards and lean forward, and then Scorpius took a step back. Rose had to take a step forward to rebalance herself, before she looked up at him, with narrowed eyes.

"And that Weasel-bug is how I know you would've remembered."

Scorpius smiled in satisfaction. It had take Weasley all night on Saturday to get him eating out her hand, and it had taken him only a few minutes.

"What did happen then?"

"Well…you had a cocktail…and then you had seven or so more…and then you kissed me…and then you were sick…and then you and Olivia stayed over in that room; and she took care of you all night. Now she's at work, but she and Joe are both coming back at lunch. I think they had a date, but she wants to check up on you, so it's going to be a big, happy double date."** (A/N The double date idea must be credited to CrimsonBludger83 - thank you!)**

Rose scowled at the suggestion that her and Scorp were going on a date. As a general rule she tried not to date arseholes.

"They can just go elsewhere on their date, and I'll go home," she suggested, heading to the door. Scorpius grabbed her by the waist and pulled her back.

"Weasel-bug, do you remember what you are wearing?"

Rose looked down at the shirt and her almost bare other than underwear legs, and flushed.

"See I don't mind it personally, but I'm not sure it's suitable…"

"Do I have anything else?"

Scorp's eyebrows creased in thought. "You have the stuff you were sick on, some of my clothes and your birthday suit…"

"Oooh let's go with the last one," said Rose, sarcastically.

"I so hoped you would say that," smiled Scorp, there was a pause. "I'll help you find something."

He led her back into the bedroom and opened his wardrobe, which when it was opened was like looking into an army of designer looks. He rifled through, and Rose stood there watching him, tapping her foot with impatience. Of course, when you take pleasure in annoying someone, their impatience only makes you take longer. Eventually, Scorp handed her a blue, silk shirt.

"Do you have anything more casual?"

"I have some vests…" he said doubtfully. "But I only use them when I work out."

"What about when you sleep?"

"I don't wear anything when I sleep…apart from pyjama bottoms in the winter…I can find you some."

Rose was silent for a moment, and he rifled through checked trousers, until he found some that were black and blue.

"You take so long," moaned Rose.

"These are the smallest, they're the most likely to fit," he said defensively.

"Admit you just wanted me to match."

"Yes, obviously, that is my sole purpose in my so-far miserable, pathetic life."

"Don't forget pointless," added to Rose.

"Thanks babe," said Scorp, uber-sarcastically.

"Anytime…now scoot, I need to change."

"Are you sure you don't need help with that? You were a mess last night, I think I should stay…just to make sure."

Rose threw the bottoms at him.

"Woah, Weasel-bug, there is no need to get violent!"

"Next time it will be the hanger…now get out."

Scorpius didn't doubt her for a second, and the second he left the room, Rose locked it with a spell to ensure he couldn't get in again…she didn't trust that boy.

However he did leave her alone, and when she was changed, she headed out into the kitchen. He was lazily supervising a knife chopping some chicken and every so often, flicking his wand to toss a frying pan full of onions. He looked up on her approach and stared at her appraisingly. Rose found herself turning to give him a full view.

"Like it?" she asked, surprised to find she actually cared what he said.

"The blue brings out your eyes," he told her. Then he tossed the onions again, and added some more vegetable to the frying pan.

"What are you making?" she asked, taking a step forwards. "Smells good."

"It's a muggle recipe for chicken and roasted vegetables," he told her, levitating some peppers towards a board, where another knife began to chop rapidly.

"Need any help?"

"I think I've got it under control," he said, with a smile. A genuine smile. Not the kind that he flashed at girls in the bar, or the one he painted on his face for colleagues at work. The sort of smile that his gang would see, at the start of an evening in with the boys, which normally ended up in a St Munroe's trip…those duels got competitive.

"I didn't think you would be able to cook," Rose told him, stealing a slice of pepper from the board, potentially risking a finger.

"What because I'm pretty?" he teased.

"No, I just…I don't know…"

She shrugged and he nodded as if he understood. Which he didn't.

"My mum taught me," he told her. "She always used to say that one of the few things Muggles did better was cook…because we're wizards we always want our recipes to have something special in it, some kind of herb…but Muggles have learnt to make food taste great without magic."

Rose nodded, she was used to Muggle cooking, her maternal grandparents did it, and often her mother did too; when she had time of course. Her parents were always so busy, and they had achieved so much, sometimes it was hard to keep up.

"Are you staying then?"

"What?"

"I asked if you were staying…for lunch I mean? We went to find you clothes so you could leave…"

"I think I'll stay if you don't mind, want to see Olivia. Even if it does mean having to eat your horrendous cooking…"

"The girls never do want to leave," muttered Scorpius.

X

"ROSE!" yelled Olivia. "I'm so glad to see you're feeling better. Yeah, I am, all thanks to you."

Scorpius coughed, but was ignored.

"Do they mind that I'm not at work?"

"No, I told them you had a lead on that exploding cauldron problem and you were looking it up…"

"OLIVIA!"

"Relax. Just tell them you were wrong, and it was a false tip…you can't miss days for hangovers…especially not in your first week at the job."

"You shouldn't have lied."

"It's fine." Olivia turned her head, as Joe walked in the door. She sent him a small smile and then flushed. Rose looked at her friend in amusement; her behaviour like a school girl was never-endingly amusing, and she always did it at the start of a date, before she was comfortable with that person. Joe greeted Scorp and headed over to them.

"Ladies, how is everything?"

"It's good," said Olivia, softly. Still in schoolgirl mode, clearly.

"Rose?"

"Much better, thank you. Although, I had to spend an hour with Scorp, and I think I'm coming up in a rash."

"Maybe, I'll inspect that for you Rose," said Scorp, innocently, as he joined the conversation.

"Are those his clothes?" asked Joe.

"Yeah, they're making it worse…"

"I brought a change of clothes for you," Olivia offered.

"Thank you," said Rose happily.

"Do you need my help changing again Rose?" said Scorpius with a wink. Rose scowled in response, took the bag from Olivia, and headed back to the bedroom. Who would have thought she would be spending so much time in Scorpius Malfoy's bedroom?

"What happened between you too?" asked Joe.

"Nothing!" yelled Rose, before Scorpius could open his mouth. She changed quickly and when she rejoined the party, Scorpius was levitating plates of food towards them. She rejoined next to Olivia. The table was filled with a kind of awkward silence.

"Food looks good, Scorp," said Joe. Everyone murmured agreement, and silence stretched into the room again.

Rose began to eat, and as she began cutting her second morsel, she noticed black words appearing on her hand.

_Weasel-bug, we need to_

She gasped and dropped her fork.

_Oh don't be so melodramatic, I know this doesn't hurt._

"What is it?" asked Olivia.

"Nothing, just dropped my fork," she said lamely, shooting a glance at Malfoy which hopefully conveyed the message of 'WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU PSYCHO?'. He chuckled.

"She's just so clumsy," he said, when he was met with questioning stares.

"I'm not!"

"Shut up and eat your food," he said, his eyes flicking to her hand. She narrowed her eyes, but watched the writing on her hand appear again.

_As I was saying, we need to ease the atmosphere. Insult me._

Rose shot a questioning look at him.

_Just do it_

"Scorp, I hate this table cloth."

Scorpius stared at her in shock.

"What?"

_Weasel-bug, that was pathetic._

"I don't work under pressure," she muttered.

"What was that?" asked Olivia.

"I was just saying that…"

"She was just being rude," said Scorp. "I think we should ignore her, like a dog. You're not meant to give them any attention when you're eating."

"I'm not a dog, Malfoy. Stop calling me that."

"I don't see any reason why I should."

"Because you're just proving to everyone how much of a total prat you are, and it's a waste of our time because we already know."

"At least I'm a good-looking prat."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"They can't go five minutes can they?" whispered Olivia to Joe.

He shook his head. "They always hated each other, even at Hogwarts."

"Oh yes, you went to school with them didn't you? What's Hogwarts like, I've always wanted to visit, we here so much about what's happened there in History…"

Joe started describing Hogwarts, and Olivia would put in references and compare what he said to her experience at Beauxbatons. They didn't notice that a minute or so into their conversation, Rose and Scorp stopped fighting and relaxed.

_Result! We make a great team…_

"You're still a prat," Rose told him.

"You're still a dog."

"I still hate you."

"I wouldn't have it any other way, babe."

X

The lunch turned out to be a success, whenever there was a silence Rose would insult Scorpius or vice versa, and Joe or Olivia would give an eye-roll and then start talking again. Rose quite enjoyed it to be honest.

"Right, dishes time. And the lucky guest is…none other than Weasel-bug."

"Didn't see that one coming," joked Joe. "He makes someone do the dishes every time with him, some weird tradition that his parents had."

"Great. I don't have to do it though, I'm a guest."

"That doesn't matter," Joe told her. "Doesn't work for me it won't work for you."

Rose sighed and began to levitate the dishes towards the sink. She ran a bowl of hot water, with enough soap to produce about a mountain of bubbles. She began to put each dish in one by one, making sure they were clean before staking them up.

Scorpius came and sat on the counter next to her.

"What are you doing? Shouldn't you be enjoying yourself, while you make your guests do slave-labour?"

"I thought they could use time alone…"

"What if they run out of things to talk about?"

"They're using their lips for something else right now." He paused. "Does it bother you at all?"

"No," said Rose, firmly, ending the conversation and bringing them to silence.

"Well, this is boring," said Scorpius after a moment.

"It's because you're here." Rose told him. He responded by flicking his wand and sending bubbles in her direction.

"Oh no you don't!" she squealed, picking out her wand and flicking some at him, drenching him from head to foot.

"WEASEL-BUG!" he yelled in shock, staring at his sodden clothes. Rose giggled. The next moment, Scorpius had rugby tackled her, managing at the same time to flick more bubbles onto her. He knelt over her, as she lay on the floor, completely soaking. She turned the tap on with a flick of her wand, and soon the sink was overflowing, with water and soap and the whole kitchen was flooded. Scorpius, splashed her, and she kicked him off her and rolled away, and began throwing bubbles at him. He gathered some up his hands and ran towards her, pushing them into her face. She blew on them and they went flying everywhere. Pushing Scorpius away, she managed to clamber to her feet, but he pulled her ankle back and she landed opposite him. She tried to move away, but he still had a firm hold her ankle and he pulled her towards him gently.

She turned up and faced him, flicking soapy water him once more. He didn't splash any more at her. His attention had been caught elsewhere, i.e. the way her top had now become completely transparent. He edged towards her slowly, and she sat and watched him. Moments later, they were within inches of one another. Scorpius tentatively, reached a strand of Rose's hair, which had become matted in the process of being dragged along a floor full of soapy water. He tossed it back, and brought his lips towards hers.

"WHAT IN MERLIN?" said a voice from the door.

"Oh wow!" said Olivia.

Both Rose and Scorpius froze and pulled backwards, standing up at the same time.

"It was Rose."

"It was Scorp."

"You two just can't be trusted can you?" said Olivia, with an eye roll.

**Clearly not...thanks so much for reading guys. I think that was my favourite chapter to write so far. It's quite interesting, how they still hate each other and yet there's so much sexual tension between them, as they say, its a thin line between love and hate. Passion is passion. **

**Anyway, thank you very much to ainat92, anonima15, jj, lynnnnyl and Mrs Grint-Cozart-Felton-Horan for their lovely reviews! Hopefully, will be posted in the next chapter soon! I'm also going to put up some like background to the characters on my profile at some point, probably tomorrow. So feel free to check that out!**

**Let me know what you think, and make any suggestions. I love hearing ideas and I loved CrimsonBludger83's, which as you know I used!**


	5. Chapter 4: Whipped?

"What's with the bag?" asked Olivia, leaning back on her swinging chair and surveying the case that Rose was heaving towards her desk.

"No offer of help? Thanks," replied Rose sarcastically. "It's the first weekend of the month…"

"Oh, so the Weasley family reunion?"

"Yep," replied Rose, happily. Beginning to sift through the paperwork mountain on her desk. Friday was always a major day for paper work, as you could no longer procrastinate. Not to mention that she had to make some fake paper work for her cauldron investigation. Which she had been on, instead of hanging with Malfoy. Not that she was thinking about him again. Or had been. Or what had happened, or nearly happened, between them.

"I don't understand why you keep having these," groaned Olivia.

"Seriously, you don't know how big my family is. You would understand if you did."

"Whatever. I'm going to be so lonely on Saturday night. Joe and Scorpius are having a boys' night…"

"Oh, well I think you're lucky to not be at that," snorted Rose, pretending that her stomach hadn't given a flutter at Scorp's name. Not Scorp. Malfoy.

"Yeah, me too. But still…"

"You'll be fine," said Rose, patting her friends head. Olivia scowled at her and Rose winked.

"Wait, are you leaving tonight?"

"Yeah. Al's going to stop by and we're going to apparate together."

"I thought we were going out tonight?"

"No. I didn't say that."

"Well, I said that you'd be there."

"To who?"

"Joe, Scorp and that general group," said Olivia, waving her hand in the air dismissively. "You have to come."

"Sorry," shrugged Rose, hiding her disappointment. Which she definitely wasn't feeling. At all.

"Rose," moaned Olivia, but Rose turned around and began working, hiding her blush. She managed to get about, say, half a page of paperwork later, Olivia interrupted again.

"So, you and Scorpius," she said, wiggling her eyebrows, which is completely lost on Rose, who had not turned around for fear of being completely scarlet.

"Expand…" Olivia prompted.

"Nothing to expand upon," said Rose, quietly.

"Of course there is. You guys were pretty much snogging when I came in," Olivia said.

"No…" argued Rose.

"You were," said Olivia, happily clapping. "He's a pretty good-looking guy…"

"He's an asshole. He always has been, he always will be."

"He's not that bad, he completely look after you when you were drunk the other night. He could have kicked you out, especially after you were sick on him, but he slept on the sofa, and let you have his bed. He can't be that much of an asshole?"

"Fine, he has morals. I still don't like him."

"Yet," added Olivia under her breath.

"What was that it?"

"Nothing," replied Olivia, with a innocent beam at Rose, who simply rolled her eyes.

X

Scorpius sat tapping his quill and considering what to write about in his article. Definitely thinking about the article. Not about Rose. Weasel-bug. WEASEL-BUG. NO! He was thinking about her again. Ah this was terrible. At least, he was going to see her tonight. Then he could remind himself how she didn't have sparkling blue eyes, or perfect porcelain skin, or crimson hair that curled so naturally that she looked practically angelic. How she even looked amazing when she was covering in soap and dust from the floor…no. NO. Something in that chicken had obviously gone to his head; something had made him go mad. Obviously.

Right. Article. Scorpius tired to refocus himself upon the advances in wandlore, and the new discovery. Tried to pretend that he was interested in the slightest. Pretend? Why was he pretending? He had always been interested in this sort of thing…and yet he was forcing himself to see it.

Maybe he was whipped.

No. NO. He did not just think that. He could not be whipped. All he needed was fresh air. Yeah, that was right. He could go for a walk. Maybe visit his father at the ministry. He hadn't seen his father in a while…that might be fun. His father had a slightly different opinion, a slightly different view on the world. Scorpius had always supposed that it came from his changed position in the world.

His father had started off at the top of the social pile, and finished at the bottom. It had matured him, and now he saw everything differently. Maybe his dad could give him an opinion.

On wandlore. Not Weasel-bug. Clearly.

He needed that air. Grabbing his jacket from the chair that he had slung it over, he headed out the apartment, and apparated to the centre of London.

The smell hit him almost immediately. As the entrance to the Ministry of Magic was located near muggle streets, Scorpius had the misfortune of being surrounded by the odours of muggle methods of transport, which was highly unpleasant. Perhaps someone should invent a spell to fix that he thought to himself. He entered the ministry of magic through the visitor entrance.

Every time he came into this building, he was astonished. He'd been in about a thousand times, but the high ceilings, and pure elegance for a place located under the ground never ceased to impress him. Nor did the busyness. He soon joined a throng of witches and wizards, who were heading for the elevator.

"Floor Two, Department of…" Scorpius forced himself not to listen. He knew if he listened to the entirety of the woman's voice, he would feel the unignorable need to answer her sarcastically. The last few (eight) times he had done that he had not earned any laughs, only glares. Tough crowds. A couple of people got off on the next floor, and two girls got on. Scorpius knew they were girls because of the sounds of their footsteps, and because of their giggles. Every man had done a sort of grunt when he had come in, probably trying to establish some sort of authority and respect.

His gaze returned to the floor, and he began fiddling with his wand. Dying people's shoes different colours was probably the best way to spend the times after all. At the next floor – only two more to go – the remaining people in the lift left, excluding one of the girls and an older man. The old man wasn't really noticing very much, he looked half asleep. It would probably be more fun to wind the girl up. He glanced up, but she had a hat on, and she was facing away from him, so he couldn't tell whether she was fit or not.

If he knew that, he would know how far too push her. AKA far enough to be considered flirting – hence earning a cheeky snog, but not too far as to completely piss her off.

He concentrated and dyed her shoes. One fuchsia and one aqua. He heard her gasp in surprise. He looked at his watch innocently, as he heard her turn around.

"You're not funny Malfoy."

Scorpius looked up in shock. A furious Weasel-bug was standing, hands on her hips, glaring at him.

"On the contrary, I think you'll find I am…"

"Nobody's laughing."

"That doesn't mean it's not funny…"

"It actually does."

"Does it now?" he said, taking a step closer to her. Adrenaline was running through his veins, every square centimetre of his stomach was electrophied. His face showed none of this of course, he was thoroughly grateful that he wasn't a blusher.

"Yes," said Weasel-bug, who clearly was a blusher. She glanced down, shifting away from him, but his hands were out, one around her waist pulling her in towards him, and the other under her chin, tilting it up. Her blues eyes met his, challenge evident in them. His narrowed and she smirked back at him.

"This is the fifth floor," said the voice from the elevator, causing them both to jump. The old man walked out, pointedly ignoring the two youths who were locked in some sort of battle of the sexes…Honestly, the youth of today…

"This is my stop," murmured Weasley.

"No, it's not," Scorpius told her, glancing over her shoulder to find that there was nobody coming to the elevator.

"It is," she told him, pushing gently away from him. He let her go.

"Oi, Weasel-bug!" he called as she stepped out. "No goodbye kiss?"

Rose turned and blew him a kiss, and he fake caught it. He was thankful for the elevator doors closing; he had just become a blusher.

X

What had she been thinking? Blowing Malfoy a kiss? He was going to be smug about that for days. He was probably going to go out with them all tonight and tell them how he had had to fend her off when she flung herself at him in the middle of an elevator.

She snorted to herself. As if anyone would believe that.

But still, how could she be so stupid. She aimed a kick at a bin on her left. It flung over.

"What was that for?" asked a painting.

"Never you mind," she growled, stalking her way towards her mother's office. She calmed down before she entered, took a deep breath and counted to ten. She only made it to six, when her mother opened the door, hair falling all over her face and looking slightly panicked.

"Rose! How lovely to see you, but would you mind waiting until this weekend? Is it important?"

"No, I just wanted to see if you would like to get lunch."

"Oh honey, I would love to. But not right now, I'm sorry, I'm really busy and I really have to do this. But I promise we will catch up this weekend."

Rose smiled and nodded, and her mum gave her a quick peck on the cheek, before hurrying off, looking half mad.

"If she's your mother, I know why you're crazy," called the portrait, as Rose walked past it again.

"Oh shut up."

"Wasn't that Hermione Granger?" said another. "She helped saved the wizarding world you know."

"Yes, yes she did. Well, just imagine you having such an incredible mother, eh?" asked the portrait again.

"Just imagine," said Rose, sarcastically under her breath. It wasn't that she didn't love her mother, or that her mother and father were bad parents. On the contrary, they had managed to raise her and Hugo remarkably well considering their fame and their hectic schedules. Of course it helped when you had about a thousand relatives to lend a hand, but her parents hadn't relied on them that much. No, Rose had to admit that there was nothing wrong with her parents.

But maybe that was part of the problem. They were such great parents that Rose couldn't help but feel guilty for resenting them. She didn't mean to, but when you went to Hogwarts and teachers compared you to your mother, or people asked what your father was like, instead of about you. OR when people used you to get more popular and seem cool. Well, it was hardly unusual for a teenaged to want to make their own name, was it?

Rose shook her head and left her thoughts, entering the empty elevator that she had just been in. Not that is made her think about Scorp again. MALFOY. The frustration kicked in again, and Rose lashed out on a wall.

"Please refrain from taking out your anger on Ministry of Magic property," said the female voice. Rose stopped for a moment and then began to laugh hysterically; releasing all the emotions she had been feeling, and successfully scaring away the other workers from entering the elevator, when it did get to the next floor.

X

Scorpius knocked casually on the door, before strolling into the office that his father shared with his partner, Andre Martinez. His father looked up. Scorpius almost took a step backwards; his father looked so worn and tired. Despite this, Draco still managed a weak smile at his son.

"Hey Dad," said Scorp, plonking himself into the chair opposite his father's.

"Scorpius. What can I do for you?"

"I was just here to catch up, and also to get your opinion on the new discoveries in wandlore. I seem to have writer's block."

"Girl trouble?...Scorpius, don't look so shocked, I helped to raise you."

"Right."

"Who's the girl?"

"You don't know her," lied Scorpius quickly. "She doesn't think much of me, although sometimes she sends out messages like she might. I don't know - she's difficult to read. The thing is: I can't stop thinking about her…"

"Why doesn't she like you?"

"She thinks I'm cocky…"

There was a silence.

"Thanks Dad," said Scorpius, sarcastically. Draco only laughed to himself.

"You are a little," he said after a pause. "Don't change that though. Never change yourself for a woman Scorpius, never. Just show her that it's not necessarily a bad thing…"

Scorpius looked at his dad, completely and utterly puzzled.

"What does that even mean? How is it a good thing?"

"Scorpius, you need to work that out for yourself…"

"What the fuck? Are you joking?"

"I am a bit," said Draco, a glimmer present in his eyes. "Now wandlore, say that the wand chooses the wizard, so if this new core is working for wizards then it can't be wrong, and then make points about traditions changing…"

"Alright…so are you going to tell me what you meant?"

"Nope," said Draco swivelling back on his chair, then he swivelled around again. "To write that article well, make sure you don't just state facts. Give both sides of the argument, the traditionalist and the more," Draco paused. "_Indie."_

"Thanks, Dad for everything."

"You welcome, Scorpius." Said Draco, returning his son's warm handshake.

"How's mum?" asked Scorpius as he began heading out the office, realising that he hadn't really caught up with his father at all.

"She's…alright," he said, turning his back on Scorpius and running a hand through his blonde, but now slightly greying, hair.

"Is she ill or something?" demanded Scorpius.

"Oh no…she's still the life and soul of the party…"

If Scorpius had listened closer to what his father had said, he may have noticed the tone of bitterness. For a tactful person, it would be enough to make one uncomfortable. Scorpius wasn't a tactful person, so he just said goodbye and left.

X

"Ready to go Rose?" said a voice, suddenly appearing in her office from nowhere. Olivia squealed and jumped a mile, and even Rose turned around in shock. James Potter II was standing there, a huge grin on his face, at managing to scare the girls.

In a way, James reminded Rose of a Labrador, unfailingly loyal but with a need for attention…most…nearly all rather…the time. However, he also had the loving qualities of the dog, which were shown as he threw his arms around Rose and engulfed her in a massive hug.

"Where did you come from?"

"I just arrived. I'm apparating with you and Al."

"Does Al know?"

"No…consider it a surprise."

Rose laughed. Al and James still had a rivalry going that came from being close in age, and having a similar flair on the Quidditch pitch. Deep down they obviously loved each other, but on the surface, well it seemed more like a constant bickering.

"I just have to finish one thing," she told him. "Amuse yourself."

Famous last words, obviously James was going to go through everything on her desk, in her drawers and fiddle with it…but hey, he only broke four things…could've been worse. Al sauntered in after about ten minutes.

"James, what are you doing?"

"Al." said James, hugging his brother. "I thought I'd come and help. I mean I know how you still have trouble apparating…even after passing your test on your _third _attempt, so I thought I'd come and you could side-along."

"Very funny," said Al, dryly. "Rose, you ready?"

"Just about," replied Rose, passing on her paperwork in the done pile, with a lazy flick of her wand.

"Great, let's go."

"See you on Monday, Olivia," said Rose, hugging her friend. "Don't get too lonely."

"I'm going to make you regret your decision, Rose…"

"Sure you are," replied Rose, grabbing her jacket and heading out with her cousins. They arrived at the Burrow quickly, Al managing not to splinch himself, despite James constant predictions. The burrow was already in full swing, though not as full as at times. The Scamanders were there, but so far Lily, Hugo, Dominique and Lucy were yet to arrive. Despite their absence, there was a sea of ginger hair and freckled faces all waiting to be hugged. So James, Al and Rose started right away.

X

"What about that girl?" said Rick, pointing out a tall, long-legged blonde with his firewhiskey bottle. He nudged Scorp, who hadn't been paying attention.

"Scorp."

"Mate?"

"The blonde?"

"Oh err, right. Well I suppose I could let you have one," said Scorpius absent-mindedly. Rick stared in shock. Joe glanced away from Olivia's ear just long enough to chuckle.

"Guys I need to take some pictures, so Rose knows what she's missing," said Olivia, taking the opportunity of not having to fight to hear her boyfriend over the loud music. She stood up with her camera, but Joe grabbed her hips and pulled her back onto him.

"Scorp take one of us."

"I don't think Rose will be jealous of that," chastised Olivia. Scorpius felt something uncomfortable squirm in his stomach.

"I want this for me," said Joe after a pause, tickling her. She squealed and threw the camera to Scorp, who muttered something that sounded a lot like 'whipped' to Rick. He took a photo, and then got in the photograph and took another one.

"You clearly want a photo of me as well," he told Joe.

"Obviously."

"Feeling left out by the bromance!" cried Olivia, snapping one of Rick.

"Don't be babe," said Joe, leaning in and kissing Olivia on the nose.

"Let's go get that girl for you Rick," said Scorp, sitting up sharply, in order to avoid being trapped in the sofa of PDAs. He strolled up, and clapped Rick on the shoulder.

"One of you guys?" asked Olivia, as Joe nuzzled her neck. The two boys turned to face the camera, Rick smiling awkwardly and Scorp blowing a kiss. Olivia laughed and then dropped the camera, freeing her hands.

"Hey, so my friend thinks you're sexy," said Scorpius, tapping the blonde. She tossed her hair, and looked at Rick like a hungry lioness.

"Does he now?" she purred.

"Yeah, he does."

"Can he speak for himself?" she asked, edging her way to Rick.

"Course," Rick replied, confidence building in his chest at the attention he was getting. The blonde edged her way closer. Scorpius took that as his queue to leave. He glanced back at Joe and Olivia…definitely was not going to make his way back over there. Half-heartedly checking out girls, he made his way to the bar and sat down.

"I think I'm the only one of my friends not getting any tonight," he told the bar keeper.

"Girlfriend out of town?"

"Yeah…I mean no," said Scorpius quickly. "Not my girlfriend."

"Dude, I get it you're whipped," replied the bartender, with a massive grin.

"Clearly not," argued Scorp. To prove himself, he slapped the arse of a girl standing to his right. She turned, and obviously highly intoxicated fluttered her eyelashes at him. The bar tender laughed and moved to take someone else's order. The girl facing Scorp, tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, and glanced at him hopefully.

"Sorry that was a mistake."

The girl yelled something, reinforcing the idea she was intoxicated, and threw her drink over his face. That wasn't cliché at all. Scorp headed back to Joe.

"I'm going to take off, I found a hot chick and we'd have more fun at my place."

"What's that in your hair?"

"Nothing," said Scorpius quickly, making a sharp exit.

"He's whipped isn't he?" said Olivia, turning back to Joe.

"Undeniably," replied Joe, before casting all thoughts of Scorpius aside, and kissing Olivia passionately.

**What do you think? I know it seems a bit quick for Scorpius to be 'whipped', but he's never really felt anything for a girl before other than lust, so he's not guarded against hurt at all, and he's just kind of let himself develop these feelings, while most people tend to be more wary. Also, notice the lovely cover art. I do not own it, but one day I hope to own Ryan Gosling. :P**

**Thank you so much to ainat92, Nathalie Weasley, lynnnnyl, Blue21, wtfCharlotte, banana175, Valentina Winter, anonima and sectumsempra7 for their reviews. 9 of you, so exciting! I'd love it to get to ten, (hint, hint, nudge, nudge) haha. Also, sectumsempra7 pointed out about how with the crackdown on M fictions, this could be in danger of being deleted. The way I feel at the moment, is if this fiction (when it's finshed) were a movie, it would be a 15, so M is fine. But I don't know if fanfiction feel the same. Sectumsempra7 suggested moving it to adult fanfiction, so how do you all feel about that? I think it's a pretty fair shout.**

**Sorry I took so long to update, I have a really big exam Thursday, so I've only been able to do a little each day. But after that, hopefully I'll have loads of time! XXX**


	6. Chapter 5: Secrets and Surprises

**Right. This is a long chapter, and I hope you enjoy it, especially the ending. Please remember to let me know what you think. Thank you to: Valentina Winter, Lissa, LillyMay77, hhapb95 and banana175 for their lovely reviews.**

**Also, my friend is writing a Scor/Rose fic, and we would both love it if you could read and review it, which is definitely worth your time because it's really good! It's called: 'Once More For Luck.' Check it out!**

**Okay, that's all. Enjoy and let me know your thoughts!**

Rose woke up to find Lily, Dominique and Roxanne had begun a major gossip session about the latest hair products, celebrity gossip, boy advice. Needless to say, Rose pretended to still be asleep. She meandered down memory lane, to past to Weasley gatherings, to Quidditch, to Malfoy…she stayed on that topic for a while. It was an internal debate, one the one hand she could remember the bad times, and Merlin, there were so many. Not many big battles, but so many snide comments, petty insults, small jinxes…

"_Weasel-bug, a boyfriend. Never thought I'd see the day…"_

"_Shut up Malfoy," Elliot had replied, wrapping his arm around Rose protectively._

"_Oooh I'm scared Rogers. But I wasn't talking to you."_

"_Fuck off you prat," Rose had said._

"_Language, language," Malfoy had replied with a trademark smirk. "Well, don't fall too fast, sweetheart."_

_Rose had grimaced and ignored him. Only when she had gotten up to go back to the Gryffindor Common Room, did she realise her shoelaces were tied together. Permanently. She had to make it the whole way back, for by then Elliot had left for Quidditch practice, without any help…Malfoy following her every footstep…_

X

While Rose had been lying in bed thing about Scorpius, Scorpius had woken up…in need of a very cold shower. He got out of his bed with a groan and padded in, reliving his dream in his mind, but sharpening it in places, to make the fantasy more realistic, more…enjoyable. In his dream, Weasel-bug had come to his bed. He had been sitting on it reading, what was it? He tried to remember, and then realised that it really didn't matter. Anyway, Weasel-bug had come to his bed. Scorpius couldn't remember how she had gotten in, but again that was an insignificant detail. All he knew, and need to know, was in a moment, the dream version of him had looked up, and Weasel-bug had stood there, dressed in a tight, short, fairly see through black dress, with crimson underwear visible underneath, her red hair flowing behind her.

She had clambered onto the bed, and began to crawl towards him slowly. By this point the book had gone from his hand, he'd probably thrown it. When Weasel-bug had been practically leaning over him, he had kissed her. And she had kissed him back with such passion and vigour, the Scorpius had fight to control himself. But she kept telling him to let himself go, to lose control, she whispered in his ear, and kissed his neck, and suddenly, he was tearing off her dress, and she his shirt. And then they were both naked panting, and facing each other. His hands began stroking her thighs softly, the creamy skin as smooth to touch as he imagined, which made sense, seeing as this was his imagination. She kissed him passionately again, and moments later he had been inside her.

And then Scorpius woke up, and headed straight to the shower.

There he relived it, as he let the water fall over his toned body. He made it so realistic in his head that he believed it himself, almost. He rubbed his blonde, wet hair with a towel and headed in, almost expecting a certain red head to find uses for his now naked body. But of course there wasn't one.

Sometimes real life can be so disappointing.

X

The girls, excluding Rose who did not count herself as one of the girls, as she seemed to be missing the chromosome that controlled knowledge of fashion and make-up, had left. Rose was left alone to her thoughts. Which had not strayed from Malfoy. He had done some pretty humiliating things to her, turned her into a human carpet, as in she was furry and stripy all over, charmed her voice to come out low and manly, turned her fingers into worms…all pretty good magic it had to be said. But he had done one nice thing for her. Well, maybe nice wasn't the word…

_It was a known fact around Hogwarts that the Head Girl, Rose Weasley had a crush on her fellow head. And now, at the end of year dance, it had become a tradition that the Heads had the first dance. Too bad for Rose, her ex, Elliot, had been harassing her for weeks, begging her to take him back. And she had refused. And now he was angry._

_But Rose was oblivious to all of this. She had her white dress on, and Lily had done her make-up. She was not circling the dance floor, with everyone's eyes on her, and his hands on her waist, feeling totally and utterly perfect. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Scorpius move, from where he had been standing in and move out of the hall, dragging someone with him. As the song ended, a scuffle broke out. His hands left her waist and she was back to reality._

"_Do you want me to sort it out?" he asked, as a leggy brunette, who he had been with for two years now, encircled her fingers between his._

"_I can do it, enjoy the dance," she had replied. She walked over, slowly because she was in heels for only the fourth time in her life, and these were a hell of a lot higher than the previous ones. Stepping into the cold air, she saw Scorpius land a punch on Elliot's face._

"_Don't you dare try to __**ruin**__ her night, after everything you've put her through," he threatened, as Elliot rubbed his face and looked up, perhaps attempting defiance, but epically failing._

"_What's going on here?"_

"_This scum," Scorp told her, aiming a kick at the Elliot, who dodged out of the way. "Was going to transfigure the head boy and girl into a pair of trolls. I was helping him to see the error of his ways."_

"_Leave," said Rose to Elliot. That had been the last time she had seen him, excluding when she walked in on him making out with another girl, on the Hogwarts Express Home._

"_Why are you doing this?"_

"_Because that guy's a prat?"_

"_No really, Malfoy. I don't want any of your lies."_

"_Fine, because I didn't want him to ruin your night."_

"_And you didn't think I could handle it?"_

"_No."_

"_That's sexist."_

"_I prefer the term chivalrous…" grinned Scorpius, winking._

"_Why didn't you want him to ruin my night? It's not like you don't hate me…"_

"_I just…don't want to be remembered as an asshole…"_

"_It's too late for that," said Rose, shaking her head and walking away, leaving Scorpius alone._

He had been kind that night. Perhaps, he wasn't as bad as all that, perhaps he was a nice guy after all. She remembered the toad that he had charmed to stalk her for two weeks, begging for a kiss…Maybe the nice guy part was deep, _deep _down. So far down, that it was almost impossible to find, like a light in the middle of a black hole.

Or maybe he just liked to play games with her mind.

X

Clinging to the last remnants of his dream, Scorpius sat up and made up his mind. He was going to make it come true. He should probably do it in a way that was gentleman like. Sending her red thong and bra set might work once, maybe, possibly, probably not, but it would only work once, if it worked. So he should try for the long term. That might take longer.

Gah, Scorpius was impatient.

Right, how to do this?

He could ask Joe, Joe with experience from Olivia and his three previous fairly successful relationships. Well, reasonably successful. They weren't still together so they clearly weren't successful, but they had lasted a while. 2 ½ years wasn't too bad. And all relationships had to start somewhere. Though if he told Joe, he'd have to admit he was whipped. Which he didn't fancy doing…

Then it came to him.

He put on a fresh shirt, and wandered to the only place he knew where he could be completely honest. He knocked on the door loudly.

"What do you want?" moaned Olivia.

"Is Joe there?"

"He just left, you just missed him. BYE."

"Good, I came to see you."

Olivia froze, dropping the completely antisocial act for a moment. Give the girl some credit, she might have been friendly had she got more than two hours sleep the previous night. She opened the door for Scorpius to come in, and then followed behind him.

"So Rose then?" she said, getting herself some coffee. "Want any coffee?"

"No, I'm fine. And I'm not here to talk about Ro-Weasel-bug."

"Oh sorry, you're clearly here to seduce me, yeah? Or to tell me to back of Joe so you can have your bromance back?"

"No…alright, I'm here to talk about Weasel-bug."

"You need to stop calling her that."

"It's her name."

"Apart from it clearly isn't."

"Fine, I can't get _Rose_ out of my head, are you happy?"

"Very," Olivia squealed, sitting down on the sofa, and indicating for Scorpius to sit opposite her. Which he did.

"So what do I do?"

"What do you want to do? Do you want to have a one night stand?"

"Many night stand?"

"Get out!" said Olivia, seriously and calmly.

"What?"

"Look, if you want to use my friend, I'm not giving you advice on how to do it. It's wrong and you can't treat her like that."

"Even if she wanted it?"

Olivia gave Scorpius a warning look, he quaked.

"Alright, I won't use your friend. I want more anyway, I want to be able to talk to her, and hear her witty but at the same time incredibly stupid remarks, make her dinner…Merlin, I am a loser."

"You basically want a relationship?" verified Olivia, holding back the symphony of excited squeaks her body was trying to force her to compose.

"Yeah."

Olivia couldn't hold back the squeals any longer, and she wrapped her arms around Scorpius in pure joy. Scorpius patted her awkwardly, unaware of what to do when girls throw themselves at you for a reason other than a desire for intense pleasure.

X

Rose eventually forced herself out of her bed and headed downstairs. All the breakfast was gone. This wasn't surprising. James, at the age of 23, was still claiming to be a growing boy. Not to mention her dad's appetite.

"Rose, we're playing Quidditch in a moment, teams are about to picked," said Al, rushing in wearing full Quidditch gear. Some did not believe the phrase, "It's the taking part that counts". The Potters had to be separated as a rule, whenever Quidditch was involved.

Originally, it had been a five teams of five: The Potters, Bill Weasley's pack, Uncle George's family plus Lorcan, Uncle Percy's team plus Teddy (and with Charlie Weasley and not Uncle Percy whenever possible), and Rose's family plus Lysander. However, this hadn't worked because it meant that Uncle George's team was always again the Potters in the final. And the Potters always won. After all, all of them played for some Quidditch team, and Ginny was a professional.

However, after Rose's father had turned to red that it looked like he might explode, after Harry and Ginny shared a victory kiss for the seventh month in a row, it was decided that the teams should be mixed up a little.

Now, five snitches were filled with four names, and the team captains, Uncle Harry, Uncle George, Uncle Bill, Teddy Lupin (for Uncle Percy) and Rose's dad flew after them, picking their snitch and hence their team mates.

"Right, I'm going to release these snitches in a second," Grandma Molly explained loudly. "If any harm comes to anyone, the person causing the harm will be de-gnoming the garden, do you understand?"

"Why are you looking at me?" demanded James. No one answered. No one needed to. Everyone knew.

"Right," said Arthur, in a quieter tone. "There off!" and with that and some help from my grandmother, he released the snitched into the air, and everyone gave chase.

Unsurprisingly, Uncle Harry returned first.

"Hermione, Rose, Teddy and Lorcan," he read, nodding appreciatively. Rose was pleased with this team. Everyone was good, excluding her mother, but they could manage. Bill finished next, making a daring catch from right underneath Percy's nose.

"I don't think that's fair," called Percy from above them. "He invaded my personal space."

Everyone ignored him.

Albus, Hugo, Audrey and Roxanne joined that team. That one was of similar strength Rose's, though that was expected of this method. It was the point. George returned next, adding Fleur, Dominique, Lucy and James to his team, which was pretty strong. Finally, Ron returned next, unsurprisingly leaving Percy the only one airborne, though there was a charm to ensure that it was easier to catch the snitch.

"Victoire, Molly, Fred and Ginny," said a red-faced Ron, with a grin. That was definitely the favourite. That left, Angelina, Louis, Lily and Lysander with Percy, though Uncle Percy still felt the need to announce it in a highly pompous way.

The tournament kicked off quickly, Rose's team up first against Bill's team. Rose took her place as a keeper, and the game began. Within moments, Hugo had taken a shot at goal, but Rose deflected it with the tail of her broom, sticking her tongue out at her frustrated little brothers. After all, brothers exist for the purpose of being annoying so payback should be achieved whenever possible. The team was fairly even, Rose let in two goals, but Teddy managed to score three. Suddenly a glimmer of gold caught everyone's eye, including Al's and Harry's. The snitch lead them high into the air, so high and far away that it was almost impossible to tell the two shaggy black haired men apart. Eventually someone caught it, and began to fly down, the other on their tale.

The two teams waited in anticipation to see who it had been.

Harry, his face showing a mixture of pride and disappointment, apologised to his team as Al held the snitch in the air, with a grin so wide his face was in danger of breaking.

"How do you feel?" asked Rose, as she sat next to him watching their father's team face Uncle George's team.

"More satisfying than beating Malfoy," replied Al happily, ignorant to the fact that at his name Rose had lapsed back into thinking about Scorp, he was literally like a drug.

Her father's team won, of course. Ron was a fair keeper, Fred an accurate beater and Ginny had somehow managed to play both chaser and seeker, though Rose was hardly paying attention to the commentary Al was rushing through in her ear. The rest of the tournament passed in daze, and with Rose in her barely there state and Hermione on their team, not even Harry and Teddy could save them, and the finished in last, behind George's team in fourth, and Bill's team n third.

Somehow, Uncle Percy's team had made it to the final, against her father's team.

An easy match for Ron, or so everyone thought. But over-confidence was their undoing as it so often is, and even with Ginny's frustrated efforts, the other team managed to secure a victory.

As they came down to collect their trophy, from a grinning Grandma Molly, jumping, hugging and shouting. Lysander suddenly grabbed Lily around the waist and pulled her in for a kiss. There was a silence, and James and Al's faces clouded with thunder.

X

Scorpius paced back and forth, thinking about Rose one last time before the boys night started, and the mask went on. The doorbell rang, and taking a deep breath, Scorp opened his eyes. He and the boys tried to do this every few months, just have a night in, playing Muggle Video Games like Call of Duty or Halo Reach, only Joe had managed to charm the games, so that they were operated by wands, which was far more fun.

Rick was standing at the door, with Henry just behind.

"Rick, Henry. What's up boys?"

They slapped each other's backs by way of greeting, and Rick placed a twelve pack of butterbeer and a bottle of firewhiskey on the counter. Scorpius eyed it.

"Going to be a good night," he commented. He levitated a bowl crisps over, and the boys lounged on the sofa, exchanging banter about who would win/dominate/pone/whatever the latest term was, the game tonight. As always, each guy put two galleons on himself.

Over-confidence is a key part of pre-game swag.

"Where's Joe?" demanded Scorp, after the topic of Quidditch tactics had been completely, utterly and thoroughly exhausted.

"I don't know," shrugged Henry. "Probably with Olivia…again."

"So whipped," moaned Rick, lying back on the sofa, with his hand on his head.

"Yeah," agreed Scorp, he vaguely remembered Olivia saying she was having ice cream with Joe later. Had the night before not been enough?

"Speaking of girls," began Henry. "How was last night?"

Rick's chest seemed to puff in confidence. "Zelda, was ALL over me, and that is not an exaggeration…"

"How much alcohol was in her system?" asked Scorp, receiving a might shove.

"Who?" asked Henry, who had been forced into visiting his parents the previous night.

"Blonde, long legs, big boobs, short dress…" described Scorp.

"Hot," added Rick. At that moment, the door opened and Joe strolled in.

"Scorp, mate. You need to start locking your door…"

"Why?" said Scorp. "Not like anyone could face me in a duel anyway."

"It's really dangerous," said Joe. "Anyone could come in, and someone could clearly beat you in a duel when you're asleep, or if you were unaware that they were there. You can't be over-confident."

"Joe, your head-boy lectures are literally the most annoying thing you could do tonight, and just for that, I'm not going to go easy on you," Scorp threatened. Joe laughed.

"Bring it on," he challenged.

The games began.

It's hard to say who would've won. The complete overload of testosterone meant that a real fight broke out before the game even finished, and therefore the evening ended with Rick in St Mungoe's, with some kind of unusual swelling…

X

"When?" Rose asked Lily, as she came back into the dorm, looking thoroughly worse for wear.

"Five months ago," she confessed.

"Five months and you didn't tell anyone?"

"Yes, look how everyone reacted! We didn't want to go through that if it was just a passing fancy…"

"A secret relationship…did you leave him down there?"

"Yeah, well Dad is restraining my brothers," Lily grimaced.

"Nobody knew?"

"Luna knew, I don't know how, but she knew. She's weirdly observant, it really freaked me out."

"How did it happen?"

"We were hanging out at New Year, and he told me that he had learned to play a muggle instrument called a guitar…he said that muggles found it really sexy. I laughed at him, and told him he couldn't be sexy, and he said he'd prove me wrong. So a couple of weeks later, when I had forgotten about the whole thing, he came to me, and said he'd written a song on the guitar, and he'd like to sing it to me. So I laughed and let him, still thinking it wouldn't be sexy…"

"And?"

"And it was damn sexy," said Lily with a laugh. "We've been together ever since really. It's been quite fun sneaking around behind everyone's back. Especially on Thursday. James came round to pick me up for a birthday breakfast, and Lysander was there and he had to hide in my wardrobe. I was laughing the whole time; I think James must have thought I was mad, I was just so nervous."

"How was that?"

"Good, I stopped off at your apartment afterwards to say hi, and thank you for the top from Al," said Lily, with a wink. "But you weren't there; Al said he thought you'd stayed with Olivia the night before."

"Oh yeah, I did," lied Rose smoothly. "Do you want your present from me?"

"Yes!" cried Lily, jumping on Rose, who laughed. She pulled out a small package, and Lily tore it open.

"Don't savour the memory, Lil," said Rose, sarcastically.

"These are so cute," said Lily, holding up the earrings, which were made of the crimson feather of phoenix, interlaced with golden thread and chains. "They're perfect. Oh thank you so much."

"You're welcome," said Rose, hugging her cousin and ruffling her hair, before heading down to join what was left of Lysander, and the rest of the Weasley tribe for dinner.

X

There was just enough firewhiskey left from last night to bring out that reckless streak…or rather to enhance that reckless streak. So Scorpius, took a deep breath, downed it in one gulp and headed out the door, his jacket slung over his shoulder.

X

It was late Sunday afternoon, when Rose and Al arrived home. Al had insisted on having a shower immediately and first, the Weasley boys may or may not have had a mud fight, and due to the smell Rose had no problem in agreeing. She curled up on the sofa and began to read her book.

There was knock on the door.

Reluctantly, Rose opened it.

"Malfoy."

"Hey Weasel-bug," he said confidently. There was a silence, Scorpius opened his mouth, but Rose got there first.

"I gotta ask, what are you doing here?"

"Seeing you of course," he said. There was another silence. Scorpius sighed.

"In all honesty I don't know what to do; I'm going out of my mind. I'm thinking about you all the time, getting butterflies. And I have tried to tell myself I only fancy you, only want a wild night that I'll remember and nothing else, but it's just not true and I can't lie to myself anymore." He took a deep breath. "I don't really know how this works, whether I ask you on a date first or not, I was told that's how these things start, but I don't care. Rose Weasley, will you be my girlfriend?"

Rose stared at him in shock.

"If you say no, I will walk away, and I will never come near you again, I swear."

"I…" Rose began. Scorpius took a step closer, so they noses were less than an inch apart. Rose found she couldn't breathe that well.

"It's a yes or no question, so what's the answer?"


	7. Chapter 6: Agreements and Adrenaline

**Hi! Sorry that it's late, I have a hellish week and this is my first spare moment! Thank you so much for everyone who reviewed (14 Reviews - I feel I should throw a party). Massive thanks to Mrs Grint-Cozart-Felton-Horan, whatapileofshit10, anonima15, Blue21, Parvati48, LillyMay77, imtiy44z, Blue Carnation Green Butterfly and agfviaugbssv.**

**As always, enjoy and let me know what you think...**

"A secret relationship?" repeated Scorpius, dubiously. He stared at Rose, as if by gazing at her face long enough he would see into her mind, which of course, didn't work.

"Well, yeah. My cousin has just admitted to being in one, and you know…I just, I don't know how much my family will approve and I'd rather break it to them one by one," Rose explained. Only partially lying. The thing about her family was true, but she had deliberately missed out the part about being unsure of her feelings. She knew she didn't want Malfoy to turn away, but she didn't know that she wanted to be his girlfriend.

Scorpius watched through narrowed grey eyes as she fiddled nervously with her hair. It was so sexy, her hair. Like a burst of flame, contrasting to the delicacy of her face, skin and features. Well, he reasoned, better to not be able to show his conquest than not to make a conquest.

"Alright, we won't tell anyone, baby," he said, stepping towards her and putting his hands on her waist. He was allowed now, she was his girlfriend.

"What are you doing?" giggled Rose, sounding remarkably like herself despite the fact she had butterflies like a twelve-year old girl.

"I'm allowed to do this, we're allowed to do far more than this, now we're a couple," he purred in her ear.

"I don't think so, Malfoy," she teased, lightly pushing her fingers against his chest. "I think you have to take me on a date first. Where you pay."

"Well, that's sexist," frowned Scorpius, annoyed that Rose wasn't currently leading him into the bedroom. He had just told her he couldn't stop thinking about her. In rom-coms this was the part where she said the same, and then they spent the rest of the night in the bedroom, not-sleeping.

"I prefer the term chivalrous," replied Rose, with a smirk, and closing the door, and leaving Scorpius brooding over what he could do that would ever possibly impress her.

X

The problem with planning a perfect first date with the girl you're in a secret relationship with is difficult because it's a secret relationship; no one else can offer creative input. Scorpius had a long list that was divided into two columns. The first was the name of the date, and the second was the probability out of ten that this date would end up with him inside Rose's pants. So far most things were scoring quite low, which was far from ideal.

Scorpius hadn't really been on many dates before; he'd been to Hogsmeade with girls but that didn't count, because it was easy. You asked a girl out, you held their hand and talked about them, you brought them hot chocolate, you showed them the shrieking shack, and you went in for a kiss and perhaps a little more if they were keen. It was kind of a set pattern. But Rose. She was different, so the date had to be different.

Besides, it would be really weird for them to go to Hogsmeade…

So he had looked over other ideas for dates. Dinner had scored a probability of 6 because he wasn't sure he could keep the conversation from getting awkward, and she might be freaked out about seeing people. Going to a muggle cinema got a score of 4, because he couldn't be charming if she watched the film and not him. Wandering around and shopping was out because he had a normal level of testosterone. Cooking for her was cheesy, though at the moment that had scored 7, so that was winning…

Scorpius was interrupted from his depressingly unoriginal thoughts when his owl bit his finger, drawing crimson blood and forcing a letter into his hand. Bloody bird.

He tore open the letter, which he recognized as being from his mother.

_Darling,_

_I would like to have dinner with you, a week on Wednesday. The usual place. Hope everything is going okay._

_Love,_

_Mum x_

Scorpius wrote a hasty reply agreeing to come, and went back to his thoughts. Or tried to. The nature of his mother's letter had concerned him, something was not quite right. The letter didn't read like his mother when she happy, there were no smiley faces or little drawings. His mother had always been the life and soul of a party, always making everything just that little bit more interesting, but this letter…This letter was boring.

When he had been younger, and his father had been on business trips, Scorpius and mum had broken into…

Wait.

That actually wasn't a bad shout for a date. That was fun, he wouldn't have to talk all the time, she would probably get pretty scared and want to hold his hand, plus nobody would be around and it would be like nothing she had done before…

Scorpius Malfoy wrote his final date idea on his page and in the other column wrote 10. Then he crossed it out and replaced it with 9.9.

Because you can never be hundred percent sure around girls as crazy as Weasel-bug.

X

_Weasel-bug,_

_Hope you're not missing your __**boyfriend **__too much, or have wasted too much time thinking dodgy thoughts about him…though I wouldn't blame you, he is a sexy beast. Wear jeans and a warm jacket on Wednesday and meet me at my place at 6._

_S.M. X_

Rose shook her head at the note, at the cockiness, at how much it had grown on her. Surprisingly, it had gotten to the stage where it was almost quite cute, especially now she knew he had a heart. Or so she thought. She still refused to let her guard down completely, but in honesty, she doubted he had either, so that was okay. What could they be doing though? Why would she need warm clothes? It was summer, unless they were doing something outside…It couldn't be that cold, and they weren't about to be out too late. A cardigan would probably be fine…

She saw Olivia bounce over, and quickly hid the not beneath a pile of papers.

"What's with the grin?"

"Nothing," said Rose, feeling her complexion begin to slowly match her hair. Olivia raised her eyebrows, and Rose raised hers back in retaliation, neither of them saying anything.

"Fine, don't tell me," Olivia huffed, sitting on her desk with a pout.

"There's nothing to tell," defended Rose.

"Yeah, as if I believe that," snorted Olivia, leaving Rose to inwardly curse the genetics that made her such a poor liar.

X

The date had been the sort of thing that couldn't have been explained in a note, but Scorpius had to admit, the whole surprise thing was a nice touch. Especially as he knew she wouldn't guess. All day he had had notes from her guessing, none of which had been even close, which he had guessed they wouldn't. As far as dates go, this was pretty out there.

He was also relieved, as he hadn't had to excuse himself from a boy night or made up an excuse for not going to the bar with the boys. Joe seemed desperate to spend all his time with Olivia, who would have known that after so much original doubt someone could fall so hopelessly in love? Although, it did bode very well for him.

Now the night of the date, he was feeling slightly nervous. Not about the date itself, obviously he was a genius and it couldn't have been planned in a more exact and precise way. He was, he supposed at least, nervous to see a girl he genuinely liked. Also mixed in there was a bit of excitement and overall it was a pleasant feeling.

He heard a knock on the door. The butterflies leapt up as though they had been released from jars and had been sitting still all this time, which was odd. They had hardly been passive before. Scorp took a deep breath, looked in the mirror and decided he looked good, and sauntered over, with as much swagger and confidence as he could muster for someone so nervous and opened the door. Rose was standing there.

Obviously, who else would it be?

She was wearing jeans, boots and a long-sleeved black top with little red flowers on, which brought out the soft shine to her curly hair. She looked good. And that was without showing a huge amount of skin. This made a change to his preferred dress codes for girls. He noticed a cardigan slung over her arm, and groaned inwardly. He had said dress warmly, why don't women listen? Honestly. She was probably going to get cold…though, he acknowledge with a smile a moment later, he knew the perfect way to warm her up…

"Where are we going?" she demanded, breaking him from his thoughts. If it hadn't been her, he would've been annoyed. He had been enjoying those.

"You'll see…" he said, mysteriously.

Rose groaned. "Do you enjoy being annoying?"

Scorpius pretended to think. "Yeah I think I do..."

He held out his arm for Rose to take. She stared at it for a moment, as if it would bite. Which it wouldn't. Because clearly that wouldn't be normal.

"Side-along apparition…?"

"I can apparate on my own perfectly well, thank you very much," she informed him.

"Oh that's right, and obviously you know where to apparate to, so I'll just see you there…"

She narrowed her blue eyes. "I hate you."

It wasn't said with malice, Scorpius noted. It was more a kind of jokey hatred, the sort of hatred he expressed when Rick ate the last chip from his plate…Merlin, he hated it when people did that, why didn't they just order their own chips? He paused, until Weasel-bug sighed and took his arm, with a pop they disappeared from the hall.

X

"Where are we?" asked Rose, looking around at the tall ominous shapes and the empty space. Scorpius didn't answer; he was too busy casting various spells. Rose looked around at the tall things, trying to work out what they were. Some were very high, and some were doing weird sorts of twists. In the dimming light, you could just about tell that they were a variety of colours, though it was probably more obvious at noon.

"Scorpius," she said again, and he turned, a shiver having run through his body at the mention of his name. "Where are we?"

"You don't know?" he said, obviously enjoying this. "Well, in that case. Pick a shape…"

"What?"

"A shape, you know those tall things…"

"I know what you mean, but why?"

"You'll see," he said knowingly. Mysterious twat.

"Fine," said Rose, pointing to the tallest one there was. Scorpius let out a low whistle, and grabbed her hand. She didn't pull away, but allowed him to lead her up endless flights of stone stairs, getting closer and closer to the tall thing, which Rose could now recognize as being black in colour, and having loads of sticks holding it together. A sign above it read, 'Hustled' and there were loads of warning signs and a random ruler stuck to a wall.

This was clearly a muggle place.

Scorpius didn't allow her to read any of the signs, and suddenly she found herself sitting inside a kart-like structure, which was held on tracks, which Rose now recognized to be what the structure was made from…

Vehicles moved on tracks didn't they?

But surely not…

Scorpius waved his wand lazily and suddenly the seat starting hugging Rose, clipping in at her hips and pressing down her shoulders. She began to struggle but Scorpius told her to stop, and then his seat began to hug him.

"Ready?" he asked, his wand poised in position.

Rose had a very bad feeling about this. Before she had time to say now however, the kart started moving. And not like how a train starts moving when it pulls away from a platform. Like how a snitch starts moving when it is released. Rose screamed as she soared, tumbled, spun and was twisted upside down, then suddenly it stopped. But it hadn't stopped in it's originally place. The kart was on its side. And it was going up a vertical hill.

"I think we're going to fall backwards," whispered Rose, her voice hoarse from the screaming. Scorpius just chuckled, taking in the paleness of her knuckles and her face. Rose was clutching for dear life. And after far too long a time, they were at the top, and Rose could sort of breathe again. But not for long, as the kart suddenly began its descent, spinning far more that it had before. Rose screwed her eyes tightly shut, until she felt it slow to a standstill, and the chair release her from its death grip.

"WHAT. THE. HELL?" she demanded.

"I admit, you threw yourself in at the deep end there," laughed Scorpius. He pulled her out by her shaky hand and began to help her balance as she walked, or wobbled, down the steps. "This is a muggle theme park. Muggles pay to go on these rides…"

"Why do they pay to be scared out of their minds?" Rose interrupted, angrily.

"It's quite fun," said Scorpius, lightly. "We should try and find a littler one though."

"Why are there no muggles here?"

"It closes at 5:30. If we went when muggles were here, we would have had to wait for two hours."

Rose was silent. Two hours would not have been worth it…crazy muggles.

"How about this one?"

Rose looked at the next shape, or 'ride'. It didn't look quite as menacing as the other one did, but it still looked terrifying.

"Hey, if you can handle that one, you can handle anything," said Scorpius, sensing her fear and looking into her eyes reassuringly.

"Alright," said Rose swallowing. Scorpius smiled encouragingly. As they walked up the steps Rose found that her stomach was curling itself into knots at an alarming rate.

"I don't want to do this," she whispered.

"Are you sure?" said Scorpius, turning to her with concern.

"I want to, but I'm scared," she admitted. She must be bloody terrified to admit a weakness to Malfoy.

"Look, Rose," he said, placing his hands on her hips and turning her to face him. "If you don't want to go on the ride, we can find something else to do. But I swear on my life, it's safe. Muggles use them without magic all the time, and they're fine. We have magic, so we can fix anything. I'll put a blanket charm underneath if it makes you feel better. But you don't need it, because I would never put you in danger."

Rose looked into his eyes and somehow believed him. So she followed him onto the ride, and took a deep breath as the chair once again began to squeeze her.

"Just try to enjoy it," Scorpius advised. "Tell me when you're ready."

"Just go," said Rose, knowing that stalling would only make it far, far worse. Scorpius nodded and the chairs took off into the distance, at an almost alarming rate.

X

"So," said Scorpius, handing Rose a sandwich. "How does this compare to your previous dates?"

"Well, it's been…different."

"You've enjoyed it though haven't you?" he asked, sounding almost concerned. How sweet.

"Yeah, apart from the fact you made ride some death traps and I've been scared out of my mind, I'd say it's been a success," said Rose, shivering slightly. The temperature had suddenly dropped as the sun had gone in, and now at the top of the highest rollercoaster again, this time perched, and enjoying the view of the park as they ate.

"Here," said Scorpius, shrugging out of his jacket, which is actually really difficult when you're practically attached to a chair. After a moment of wiggling, he managed to force his jacket of his back and handle it to Rose, who also began wiggling to get it on.

"How did you know about this place?"

"My mum used to take me, when I was little and my dad was away. I came once when there were muggles here with her the first time, but we agreed it would be far more fun when it was empty, and there were no queues. I used to love hanging out with my mum, she was always so fun and carefree, and it was just a joy to be around her…"

"What happened?"

"Well, I guess there comes a time when you need your mum to be serious and in control…but I guess that's what my dad's there for; I could always come to him with a problem."

"They sound different," Rose commented.

"Yeah, they are."

"My parents are pretty much opposites."

"Well, you know what they say…opposites attract," said Scorpius slowly.

Rose looked up at him from under her dark lashes, and saw a faint flush on his cheeks. "I guess they do," she said, quietly.

"Right there's one more ride," said Scorpius, after a moment of contentment when the only sound was the munching of crisps and sandwiches. "I don't know if you'll want to do it."

"What is it?"

"A water-ride, you're going to get very wet."

Rose raised her eyebrows.

"Not like that?" said Scorpius with a laugh, actually preferring that idea to his own.

"I'm up for it," said Rose after a moment.

"Good," replied Scorpius with a smirk, giving her a moment to brace herself before causing the ride to take off and carry them down to the bottom.

X

The water ride left them wet, soaking wet. Scorpius got a pretty good view of Rose's outline when the black shirt she was wearing turned incredibly clingy, but she got an even better one of him, considering his shirt was white.

Not that either of them minded…

They apparated to Rose's place in quietly, this time choosing side-along apparition, even though it wasn't entirely necessary.

She paused by the door.

"I'd invite you to come in, but Al's home," she said quietly.

"Should have gone to my place," muttered Scorpius. Rose giggled and pulled him towards her by the shirt collar, bring their lips together. Scorpius narrow eyes widened in shock but he soon responded enthusiastically, allowing his hands to roam her still wet clothes as she did the same to him. Breathlessly, she pulled away.

"See you soon," she whispered, her hands lingering on his shoulder, before turning and disappearing behind the door, leaving Scorpius with an arrogant and satisfied smirk on his face, and a plan forming in his mind.


	8. Chapter 7: The Party

**There's a longer A/N at the bottom. This is a warning of citrus content at the end. Just for any of you who are sensitive.**

"Scorp, you're having a party? Again?"

Scorpius laughed at Joe's expression of disbelief, his friend really should know him by now. He just sat back, as Joe digested information.

"And it's tomorrow?"

Scorpius smirked.

"How in the name of Merlin do you intend to pull that off?"

"Joe, don't you know me at all?"

"Mate, you're deluding yourself if you think everyone will cancel their Friday night plans to go to a party at the very last moment," Joe told him, loudly. A couple of people in the coffee shop turned to look at them, curiously.

"We'll see," said Scorpius, infuriatingly.

X

Olivia was surveying Rose intensely.

"What happened to you? You seem…happy…"

"I'm always happy."

"True, but there's just something different about you…"

"You're obviously over-tired," said Rose, in what she hoped was a dismissive voice.

"Mmmm."

"Well, I expect you've been up all night," said Rose, with a wink. Olivia blushed and Rose knew that she had succeeded in distracting her friend, all that needed was a question about Joe, and she would be off the hook. For a moment, she felt a stir of guilt at deceiving her friend, but it soon disappeared, remembering how important his secret was.

Merlin, if Olivia found out, they would be double dating every night.

And she wanted Scorp all to herself.

Wait, she didn't just think that. Obviously, she meant she um…she didn't want to spend that much time with Scorp in such a new relationship.

Yeah…that was it…

Thankfully, she didn't have long enough to dwell on that, only long enough for her to turn crimson, before an owl arrived with two letters in its beak. One for Olivia and one for Rose. Olivia tore off the envelope lid in childish excitement, while Rose examined the front.

"Scorp's throwing a party…tomorrow," said Olivia, sounding excited but also slightly confused.

"Tomorrow?" repeated Rose. Surely you had to give your girlfriend notice of more than a day when you were having a party…They hadn't had anything planned from that night, after all their first date had been yesterday, and everyone knew there was rule of how long you had to wait before calling and seeming too keen…but still, if he was throwing a party surely that would be an exception?

Well, clearly not.

"Yeah," said Olivia, her brow furrowing. "It is the 8th today isn't it?"

"Yeah, definitely."

"Then, yes. It's tomorrow…shit, what are we going to wear?"

"Is there a dress code?" asked Rose, scanning her invite, which she had just opened. "It's not like…I don't know…stripper themed?"

"No," laughed Olivia. "There's no dress code…"

"He'll probably give out 'I love Malfoy' t-shirts at the door then," said Rose sarcastically.

"I think one of those might suit me," said Olivia, in mock-seriousness.

X

"Right, Joe. I need you head boy skills," said Scorpius. "We need to decorate this place."

"Scorp, this is such late notice," moaned Joe.

"Drop the attitude, mate. This is going to be an amazing bash, you get to introduce your new girlfriend to people, brag about how you played a tiny part in organizing" – Joe snorted – "Plus, it means you get to spend the rest of the day with me."

"I have to work, Scorp. So do you!"

"Yes, yes. Alright. Not the day, but I expect you here as soon as your shift finishes. As for me, I will write this wretched article now, but then I will start decorating," said Scorpius with a gleam in his eye.

"You know you sometimes slip into a really camp mode," Joe told Scorpius. A jet of water from Scorpius' wand hit him square in the face.

"I didn't say there was anything wrong with it," said Joe, holding his hands up. "But maybe it's why you couldn't get Weasel-bug, you showed up on her gay-dar."

Scorpius bit back the response that was on his lips. Secret relationship. That was pretty irritating right now.

"I think it's because she realised I was too manly for her," responded Scorp, the mention of Rose's name bring out a few memories, the outline of her body, the taste of her lips…

"Sure…" said Joe, but Scorp barely heard him, he was planning how extravagant he could make this party, so that he and a certain red head could just slip away at will…

That was the plan at least.

"Right, well. I'm going to go," said Joe, after Scorpius failed to respond.

"Bye," said Scorp, snapping out of it for a moment, just long enough to see Joe smile as he walked out of the door. He began whistling, and sat down to write the article. A review on the latest use for patronuses in healing. This was actually fairly interesting, because it turned out that you could gather some of the patronus, and it had similar qualities to phoenix tears. However, it was highly difficult to capture and store something that wasn't solid matter. All in all, there were a lot of facts to be put in and it didn't have to be a long article, so it was a fairly easy experience.

Especially for someone so academically gifted.

After finishing the article, Scorpius surveyed his apartment. There was space at the moment for a few people, but the more guests he had, the easier it would be to slip away. So he transfigured his table so that it would fit in his hand and hid it in his room, along with the set of chairs that went with it.

He surveyed the room again, 67¼ people could fit in here, approximately. Well, 67 would probably do; most people he knew would find the ¼ creepy.

Scrolling through people in his head, Scorpius found it easy to get the number up. He had many idolisers after all who would all be happy to come. Everyone knew he threw one hell of a party. He began sending out invites, except to Rose and Olivia who had received theirs earlier of course. If they had replied saying they couldn't make it he would have had to cancel the party, so it would better not to invite anyone.

Not that Rose's presence was the only thing that mattered to him of course.

Not that those other guests were pretty much irrelevant or anything.

Not that no other guests would be as funny, or blush as prettily or have auburn curls that practically gleamed and bounced with every step…

What had been doing again?

Inviting people. He sent off the invites quickly, and smoothly, old friends from Hogwarts and family friends, guys from the prophet, a few girls whose company he enjoyed…it all added up to 60 people…meh, good enough.

What was next?

Oh yeah, decorating. Despite Joe's earlier comment, Scorp actually wasn't obsessed with decorating; to be honest he hated it. He liked how things looked afterwards, and he liked being complemented on his style, but decorating itself was boring. The best thing about decorating was of course, that it meant the party was just around the corner. The party was the fun part. Drinking as much as humanly possible, fighting and gambling with the boys, joking about, getting with as many girls as possible…

Though this was the first time that he had a girlfriend at a party.

A secret girlfriend.

Well that complicated things. What was he supposed to do? He couldn't sneak off too early, because people couldn't notice. So he'd have to get them drunk. Well, that wouldn't be too hard a task. But surely people would notice that he wasn't getting with other girls?

Would Rose get jealous when girls flirted with him?

Wait. What if other guys flirted with Rose? He couldn't break their faces in front of everyone…that might just ruin the night…

Silent jinxes would have to do.

He would practice on Joe later.

That would be fun.

X

"Rose, what are we going to wear?" asked Olivia. AGAIN.

Talk about having a one track mind.

"I don't know," replied Rose.

"Neither do I, help me puzzle it out," Olivia wailed, grabbing Rose and shaking her jokingly, as if she were driven mad. Which in fairness, she probably was.

"Ask Joe, he'll have been to one of Malfoy's before."

"That wouldn't be a bad shout, if he had any idea about clothes…which he doesn't."

"Really? He dressed quite well at Hogwarts."

"Oh, he dresses himself well, but I don't know…he doesn't pay much attention to girls he's not in a relationship with…well apparently."

"He doesn't," confirmed Rose, with almost a wistful note in her voice.

"Well you never know with guys, but yeah, and I think he's not really interested in what his girlfriends are wearing. I mean for a smart guy, he's pretty oblivious."

"Oblivious about clothes? I don't think that's too much of a worry."

"No, but still. Why don't you ask Scorp?"

"Why would I ask him? I hate him, remember?"

"Well, you're going to his party."

Rose paused, not sure of an excuse for this…how did she explain a reason for going to the party of her secret boyfriend, who for all intensive purposes she hated and couldn't stand to be around? That would be a challenge.

"Well, it's not as if I have to talk to him. I'm basically ensuring that all the food and alcohol he buys doesn't go to waste…" Rose settled on, though the lie made her voice sound unnaturally high.

But Olivia, oblivious as always just nodded.

"I'll message him then," she said, scrawling a quick note.

"What did you say?"

"That you and I are coming to his party and we don't know what to wear."

"Okay."

Rose went back to work and tried not to watch the clock and wait for Scorpius' reply.

X

Scorpius stared at the note in his hand.

_Rose and I will be at your party, looking forward to it. One question: what do we wear?_

_O xx_

Scorpius fiddled with his quill, and then wrote a reply. Potentially really cheeky, but who cared?

X

"Ooh, he replied," said Olivia, then she collapsed into peals of laughter. Rose snatched the note from Olivia's fingers.

_Most girls tend to wear dresses and skirts, so I would advise you wear that. Not too fancy though. As for Weasel-bug, tell her to come in her birthday suit…_

_Scorp XX_

She scowled, but she had a little smirk on her face that she couldn't hide. It was a pretty amusing message.

"Write him back," she ordered.

"Why? We know what we need to know. And he both have outfits to wear," Olivia replied, with a barely suppressed giggle.

"We can't let him get away with that!"

"Rose Weasley, you need to be at work. You are such a bad example, and ex-head girl and everything…"

"Oh shut up. Come on, we need to reply."

"You reply; I definitely can't be bothered."

"Alright," said Rose, snatching the paper and pausing before scribbling a reply.

_That's a bit cheeky Malfoy; I don't expect such disrespect from you – R x_

_I don't see it as cheeky Weasel-bug; I thought it was compliment, because after all, we both know you'd look good. – S xx_

_As lovely as that is, I think you'll find that I will be fully dressed – R xx_

_What a shame that is, you would have looked so good without. And you would have made quite the entrance, stolen the spotlight at my party – S xx_

_Maybe you should go naked Malfoy, and then you would have all the attention you need – R xxx_

_Ah, Weasel-bug, that was a nice try. However, I think we will reserve that to your dreams. I wouldn't want to overwhelm you with my overwhelming hotness – S xxx_

_I just laughed at you – R xxx_

_More like drooled at the thought. – S xxx_

_Haha you wish – R xxx_

_Of course I do. Every guy wants their girlfriend to be completely infatuated with them…I'm so lucky. – S xxxx_

_Hush, you secret girlfriend. People can't know – R xx_

_What do you think they'll do? Intercept the Owl service? Paranoid much? – S xx_

_Whatever, I'll see you tonight – R xxx_

_Naked? – S xxx_

_Fully clothed. – R xxx_

How disappointing, thought Scorp to himself, but he decided not to reply, he would save his incredible wit and skills at flirtatious banter for when he saw the girl herself. Even though that probably wouldn't be too bad thing, after it, he still had managed those silent jinxes yet…

Where was his test victim?

Joe was uncharacteristically late. Really late. Like half an hour late. Scorp began pacing, and throwing streamers over his walls as he did so, because you know, pacing on its own is dead time.

The walls had just about been drowned in Green and Black, the white of them obscured, when Joe walked in, looking stressed and weathered.

"Mate what happened to the wall? It looks like there's been a fucking explosion in here," he explained, animation returning temporarily to his handsome face.

"Never mind that," growled Scorpius, noticing the mess he had made. Then he looked up and said in a more concerned voice. "What happened?"

"I ran into Savannah," said Joe, his voice lowering with distress, as he ran his hand through his hair, and flopped onto a sofa.

"Your psycho ex-girlfriend? Shit…"

X

Rose applied her ruby lipstick and pouted at her reflection. Despite her hatred of dressing up, she had to admit that there was something oh so satisfying about looking in the mirror and knowing you looked hot. Her tulip dress, which was the same blue as her eyes, was scattered with tiny golden sequins, matching the beaded belt tying it around her tiny waist. Her make-up was simple, and her hair was tied up in a high ponytail, showing off her face and the neckline, or rather, hiding that it was a bad hair day.

She heard and knock on the door, and rushed to answer it, kicking off the gold shoes as she did so. They were far too high anyway. Although, she would still be a couple of inches off Scorp.

"Olivia, what are you doing here? I thought you were going with Joe?"

"Oh Rose, you look amazing. So lovely, we must take a photo," Olivia babbled, her hair slightly frazzled. However, when Rose's friend left her slightly too long hug, Rose had to agree that her friend looked incredible. Olivia's green dress hugged her figure the entire way down, but at the waist another layer of fabric, this time slightly white was joined on with a sash. The white was fairly transparent, and fell just a few inches longer than the dress in a far more floaty way. Olivia looked amazing.

"Joe's eyes are going to pop out of his head," said Rose. "Why isn't he here?"

"I don't know…he was being quite vague with me. He said he'd see me there but, I don't know…he sounded off when I spoke to him…"

"I'm sure he's just got a lot on his mind. But you'll blow it all out when he sees you," Rose reassured her.

"Thanks Rose," said Olivia wrapping her friend in a hug. "Shall we get going?"

"Let's," replied Rose, linking arms with Olivia as the hug ended, slipping the shoes back on – making her a decent height compared to her friend – and headed out the door.

X

"Right mate, you need to pull your act together," Scorp told Joe, watching in a mixture of disgust and pity as his best friend sat staring at the wall on his sofa. Where he had barely moved from for the last day and a half. Scorp had had to do all the decorating and cooking himself. He was not amused.

"Scorp," moaned Joe.

"NO. Man up. Guests are going to be arriving soon. Your girlfriend is going to be arriving soon, so get a grip. You can moan about how much a bitch she was and how beautiful she looked and whatever else you like later and I swear I will listen. Okay that's a lie. I'll pretend to listen, but seriously right now, put on your game face."

To Scorp's surprise Joe nodded. Which was lucky, because at that moment, the doorbell rang.

Standing in Scorpius' hallway was Matthew Cooper, the captain of the Quidditch team on the year for Scorpius' first two years. Joe looked at him in disbelief. Cooper hardly had the best reputation you see. He knocked James Potter off of his broom in James' first ever Quidditch match, then he had done the same to Lily Luna. Al had always been too quick.

That hadn't really been a problem when they were younger. After all, taking out the enemy is half the fun of Quidditch.

However, Cooper was also the most self-righteous, woman-loving, cheating, bragging, idiotic, insensitive, bossy, arrogant, annoying, judging, assuming, ridiculous prat that they had ever had the displeasure to meet. Basically, he was an asshole. So what he was doing in the corridor was beyond both the boys.

"Heard you were having a party," he said, gruffly. "Thought I'd make it a bit more fun."

"We're full," said Scorpius. "Sorry. Maybe next time."

"You owe me Scorpius, you owe me big time. For that match when I fucking saved your life."

Scorpius winced. He hated that memory, when he had been flying high up in the rain against Ravenclaw, and suddenly a large gust of wind had sent him spiralling out of control, headed straight for the floor. The visibility had been poor, and no teachers had realised in time, but thankfully, Cooper had seen and grabbed Scorpius by the Quidditch robes, allowing the broom to free fall to the ground and break.

So Cooper clearly wasn't too bad a guy, and may even have become a hero of sorts. Had he not used his actions for his own gain.

"That was over seven years ago," said Joe, defensively.

"Seven years, he wouldn't have had," replied Cooper, focusing on Scorpius.

"Alright, you can come. Whatever," said Scorpius, throwing his hands up in frustration. He shouldn't let such toe-rags know his weaknesses. Lesson learned.

The next two minutes were uncomfortable, as the three boys were far from on good terms, but thankfully other people were now beginning to show up. Girl after girl trailed in, tight black dresses, low cut red dresses, practically not even there dresses, none of them Rose. Boys trailed in to, taking in the girls and being far more appreciative than the host. They slapped Scorpius on the back and then went to try their luck. Cooper dissolved into the party easily, and Scorpius almost forgot he was there.

Rose Weasley's entrance had been pretty distracting.

She had walked in slightly differently from everyone else. Instead of that air of purpose, the air of 'I don't care what I do tonight because I'm going to be so drunk later that nobody will judge me and if they do I don't even care'; instead of that, Rose took in the decorations and the people and smiled. Calmly and then she had placed her eyes on Scorp's. He caught hers, and suddenly all people in the room weren't there, and the music wasn't playing, and the lights weren't flashing. And there was nothing. Nothing except Rose and Scorpius.

Of course it could only last a second.

Olivia nudged her friend, and Rose broke her gaze, looking at the floor and blushing. This only made her more attractive to Scorp.

In an attempt to stop himself staring, he forced himself to look at Olivia, who also looked quite lovely, but her beauty was dimmed now he had seen Rose.

"Olivia," said Joe, he sounded happy to normal people, but Scorpius could hear the strain in his voice, and Olivia must have heard it to because a small frown flitted across her face before she beamed at him.

"Hi."

"Shall we dance?" asked Joe, holding out his hand. Olivia accepted and followed him on to the dance floor. He placed his hands on her waist almost gingerly, and she placed hers around his neck with ease. Rose watched with a slight look of concern, then looked back and Scorp and smirked.

"Hey Weasel-bug," he said.

"Hi," she purred, coming closer towards him.

"Glad you made it tonight. Though as stunning as you look, I'm rather offended that you didn't take my fashion advice."

Rose placed her hand on his shoulder, they were now slightly too close to be considered 'friendly'. But that was fine. You always invaded the personal space of people you hated. Its standard behaviour.

"I thought you might be," she whispered in his ear, causing Scorp to shudder with longing.

"I definitely am. Why didn't you?" he murmured, running his fingers across her bare, soft arms.

"Well," said Rose with a seductive laugh. "I didn't think you'd have been able to control yourself." Her lips were dangerously close to his own. "And this is, after all, a secret relationship."

He leaned forwards as if to kiss her, but found that she had turned, flicking her ponytail into his eager face, and with a laugh had gone to enjoy the rest of the party. He watched in an unusual combination of lust, anger and affection, and she turned back and looked over her shoulder, mouthing the words, 'see you later'.

Well, now he had something to look forward to.

He glanced around looking for a distraction in the meantime, and saw Henry sitting alone downing whatever contraption of firewhiskey he had made. His friend winced; the taste had obviously not been good.

"Oi, Henry," he called, beckoning to him. "Let me make you something that's worth having."

Henry ambled over, and Scorpius observed that his friend looked truly miserable. He whipped up what he knew Henry liked, and sat down next to him.

"What's bugging you mate?"

"Nothing," said Henry, gulping some of his drink.

"Mate, I know you so much better than that. Seriously, what's up?"

"Just a crap day," said Henry with a sigh. "My alarm went off late, so I was late to work and my boss yelled at me. Then my little sister's boyfriend dumped her, so I had to spend hours on the phone to her while she sobbed hysterically, and all I wanted to do was to beat up the twat. Then my broomstick snapped in getting home, I mean I know it's old – but it snapped clean in half. Then my shower broke and I just…they're all really little things but I don't know, I guess it kind of…"

"Mounted up," finished Scorp, clapping his friend on the back.

"Yeah, and now, I'm at this party, surrounded by beautiful girls who aren't in the least bit interested in me, and I guess it's just making it even worse."

"Mate, look at me. The only reason these girls aren't interested, is because you're miserable and it shows. So the way I see it, you have to options. One, you go home and lie in your own bed feeling utterly awful and lonely. Or two, you allow me to add some Felix Felicis to your drink, and then you go and have a good time. Which will it be?"

"The second…if you think that will work."

"Mate, I know it will work. Just do whatever the Felix tells you to do, and have an amazing night."

"It's your Felix, I feel kind of bad, and didn't you want it for yourself?"

"I don't need it," said Scorpius firmly. In all honesty, he had. He was planning to use to be able to make sure he and his secret girlfriend could sneak away, but he was amazing. So he could make that happen without some potion.

"Thanks," said Henry, taking the small vile that Scorp had pulled from his pocket and held out. He downed the liquid in one. "I'm going to talk to that girl," he said, suddenly, pointing out the girl that Cooper had clearly chosen as his target.

Scorpius frowned, that was far from ideal. But, who argued with Lady Luck? As Henry, branched into the middle of the room, he noticed that Olivia was now talking to another girl, he saw Rose hanging out by the refreshments table, he saw Rick chatting to the leggy blonde that he had brought with him, whose name Scorpius had already forgotten. He watched with a small sense of satisfaction as Cooper's girl was taken from right under his nose.

X

In life, there are two types of assholes. There was the type of asshole that Scorp was, where he actually wasn't but he just appeared to be. And then there was this guy. This guy was a toe-rag to his core.

"I work for Gringotts and they pay me so much. This year, I'm thinking I might buy a little get away on an island with my bonus."

"That's lovely," said Rose, bored to her core, and angry that someone got this much as a bonus. Especially when there were people out there living in poverty.

"Yeah, it should be great. Nice beach, nice weather, nice company."

The guy was touching her arm. Why was he touching her arm? What do you do in this situation? Should she slap it away? Politely move off? Jinx him until he was unconscious?

It had been almost okay when Scorp had hit on her, because he had been slightly attractive. Slightly? Who was she kidding? Very. But this guy was not attractive in the least. He was smarmy and creepy and his presence made Rose's skin crawl. The skin that his hand was still touching.

"I should go talk to someone," she mumbled.

"No, you shouldn't baby. The night is young, it's hardly about to end. Stay here with me for a bit." He was stroking her arm now. Not in the way Scorpius did, which was gently and caring. This guy was being forceful.

"I really should," she said, taking a step away. He took a step as well, so he stayed facing her. Her stomach knotted unpleasantly.

"Please," she said. He just laughed and took a step closer to her. This was definitely invading her personal space and this wasn't right.

"Get away from me," she spat, her temper flaring. If people took no notice of her when she was polite, she was hardly going to let them have their way.

"Don't be like that," he said with a frown, taking a step even closer to her, so they were practically touching. "Or I might have to punish you."

Rose shuddered at his words in horror, but the moron clearly thought it was in anticipation and continued to whisper vile things in her ear. The stink of alcohol clear from his breath made her feel physically ill. She glanced around desperately for anyone, anyone who would help. Olivia and Scorp were chatting over by the beverages but neither of them could see her, probably due to the size of this oaf.

"I think you should get away from her, Cooper."

Surprisingly, the man, well Cooper, took a step back, his eyes narrowing viciously.

"What did you just say?"

"I told you to leave her alone. You've had far too much alcohol and she clearly doesn't want your attention. If you try anything, I will personally throw you out," said Joe, reasonably. Cooper took an uneasy step towards him, and then decided the better of it, and turned and left.

"Thank you Joe. You're like my knight in shining armour," she said, throwing her arms around his neck.

"You're welcome; that guys an asshole."

"Why did Scorp invite him?"

"Hey, you didn't say Malfoy. Um, because he saved his life a while back and Cooper kind of used that against him to get himself in."

"Right…are you alright?"

"I saw my ex yesterday. I've…I've had a really hard time getting over her. And it all just came back."

"Do you want to be with her?"

"No, she was awful to me. I want to be over her, but I'm just, not quite there. I want to be with Olivia, but now I feel trapped, because she's ready for a proper relationship and I don't think I am. I need to take things really slow."

"Just talk to her," said Rose, softly. "She'll understand. It's so much better than freezing her out."

Joe nodded. "This is like old times. We always used to spend more time in Head meetings discussing my girl troubles than we did actual plans."

Rose laughed. "That's true."

"Good times," said Joe. "Hey, shall we have one more dance? For old time's sake?"

"Sure," said Rose, easily. She slipped her hands onto Joe's shoulders and he pulled her towards him by the waist. And they danced, the way Rose had dreamt about nearly every night in her four-poster bed in Gryffindor Tower.

X

Scorpius watched as his secret girlfriend danced with his best mate. It was hard not to be angry at Joe, but in fairness his friend had no idea. Olivia turned her head too, and actually smiled at what she saw.

"That's lovely," she said, Scorpius suspected she had a bit too much to drink.

"That's your boyfriend and your best friend," he told her.

"Yeah, but it's not as if anything's going to happen. Everyone can see she's infatuated with you," said Olivia, letting out a little giggle. Through his worry, Scorpius felt his glare soften and his knotted stomach leap. But only for a moment.

X

The party ended late. Very late. It seemed to drag on, and Scorpius and Rose did not manage to speak to each other again. Rose was looking after Olivia, and had given a fleeting smile to Scorp as she had passed. Now, the party was over, and Rose had taken Olivia home, and Henry and Rick had both left with their girlfriends, and Joe had gone home himself and everyone was gone. And his house was empty, but filled with just empty bottles and limp decorations.

He slowly began tidying up, but his mind soon wandered to Joe and Rose and dancing and he sat down on the sofa with his head in his hands for a long time, until he heard a soft pop. He glanced up and Rose was there.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded, and she looked taken aback by the rude tone to his voice.

"I'm here to see you," she said, sounding slightly hesitant. Which was hardly surprising considering her reaction.

"I saw you dancing with Joe," he said, after a pause.

Confusion flickered across her pretty features. "And?"

"I know you used to like him, I know you did. Don't you remember? I gave you hell about it," he said bitterly.

"Oh, you think I still like Joe."

"I know you do."

"You're the only one I want," she said, sitting next to him. "You're my only secret boyfriend, and you don't need to worry about anyone else, okay?"

"It'd be easier if our relationship wasn't secret."

"I think it should stay secret for now," she said firmly.

"So you can dance with whoever you want…"

"Scorpius," said Rose, laughing a little. "You don't need to be jealous. You're the only one I want. If you follow me I'll show you."

She took his hand, and led him into the room which she knew was his bedroom, and dimmed the lighting with a wave of her wand. Then she kissed him passionately using her hands to clasp his hair, his neck and pulling him towards her by the shirt. Scorpius responded, his hands reaching for her dress and pulling it off successfully, while kissing her with an equal amount of frenzied fervour.

Who said men can't multi-task?

He brushed the hair out of her face as she pressed her now topless, save for a lace bra, body against his, her fingers moving slowly down his shirt undoing each button, at an almost agonizingly slow rate until they found the end, and then pulling his shirt off slowly, as he waited patiently, his hands roaming her waist, her hips, her breasts. He reached behind him and took of the remains of his shirt as Rose moved onto his bed, watching him. Falling forwards onto the soft sheets, he began to crawl towards her, and she giggled seductively. He kneeled in front of her, allowing her to take in his well muscled form, he had only been working out every day of his life after all.

Then when her eyes had had their fair share, her hands reached out impatiently and began to roam, taking in the tenseness in his muscles and reaching for the belt buckle of his jeans, wiggling them off, and so he was before her in just his boxers.

Merlin, he looked good.

He licked his lips seductively, and Rose felt herself squirm with pleasure, even before his hands reached her waist and began caressing her softly until her reached her jeans, which were gone in a flash, and far more smoothly than his were. Rose wiggled so she was underneath him, and met his eyes. Both of them almost naked and only looking at each other.

Their lips met again, in a frenzy of lust, desire and passion, both sets of eyes dark and hungry. He unhooked her bra gently, and with one hand, and she gasped in satisfaction as her breasts met his chest, while he groaned against her, pulling her towards him, and feeling nothing but the smoothness of her skin. Both sets of fingers reached for the others final garments of clothing, and soon they were slipped off and by the knees.

Crazed aching was all both of them felt now; they were practically consumed by it. Scorpius's well toned arms held him above Rose, in an almost press-up like position, as they both quivered with excitement and anticipation.

"Are you sure?" he whispered, his voice hoarse.

"Yes," breathed Rose, pulling him down onto her, inside of her. He moved slowly and rhythmically, and both of them moaned with gratification, his hands running through her hair, and hers feeling his strong back and tight ass.

"Rose," Scorpius moaned, as he began to reach his climax. She wrapped her arms around his neck and yelped, as she did the same, losing herself in his eyes and the feel of him inside her.

When it was over, they both lay back, panting from exhaustion, grinning from satisfaction.

"Merlin, that was good," gasped Rose, looking over at Scorpius, to see sexy, arrogant smile placed firmly back on his handsome face.

"Well, what did you expect?"

**Ah, that was a long chapter and it took me ages, but it was long for two reasons. The first was to celebrate reaching over 60 story alerts, and over 50 reviews – thanks so much to all of you! The other, was because I have the busiest summer ever. And realistically, I can't promise an update. I'm going to try, but I don't want to say I will and then not update, because I know how annoying that is when you're reading. ****Also, I noticed when reviewing, a message comes up that says something like, 'the author is grateful for your continued support,' and I just wanted to say that is an understatement. I am thrilled with any support whether it's read, alerting, favouriting or reviewing.**

**Massive thank you to: Parvati48, ForgottenStories,hhapb95, Blue Carnation Green Butterfly, Blue21, LillyMay77, anon, ronandhermioneismagical, skittlezsparkler and Moogan-elicia for their lovely review. You guys made me smile like an idiot. **

**Also, this is definitely not the end, not even close; there is still so much to come! So please stay reading because when September comes this story will take over my life once more. **

**So let me know what you think, and have an amazing summer!**


	9. Chapter 8: Lunches and Lairs

Scorpius awoke to find Rose lying next to him in the bed, wrapped and curled up in the white, bulging duvet, her eyelids lightly closed and a small smile on her lips.

Merlin, she was breath-taking.

And despite all his inner macho-ness and manliness, he was getting sentimental. So he did the cheesy, cliché and yet still sweet thing of kissing her on the forehead, ever so, ever so gently, as though she were the most precious thing in the world.

Then her hand reached up and slapped him.

He sat up in shock. That was not cliché and neither was it expected, not that a slap ever really is. But come on, she was asleep. Rose moaned and opened her eyes.

"Alright?" he asked, cautiously.

"Yeah, I just felt something on my head," she shuddered. "I can't take it when things are on my head, because once Hugo jinxed a spider to sit there. I hate spiders."

"Fair enough."

"What was on my head, did you see?"

"No," lied Scorpius. "I have absolutely no idea."

"Okay," said Rose sleepily. "Make sure it doesn't come back."

"What are you doing then?" Scorpius asked, frowning slightly. He was hardly the guardian of her forehead after all. Especially not when she'd already slapped him in this morning. Although admittedly, she had no idea it was him, but still.

"Going back to sleep," she murmured, winding herself tighter in the pale mass. "It's Saturday."

"You need to get up."

"Why?" she asked, opening her blue eyes to challenge him. Gone, in that instant, just like that, was the sleepy, dazed, dreamy look. It had been replaced by a fierce, possessive look. Like a lioness who refuses to leave her cubs.

"Because, I said so."

"You're not the boss of me," she retorted, eyes narrowing.

"Rose, please. I'm bored."

"Then find something to occupy yourself with," she snapped. Definitely not a morning person.

"And you're staying in this bed?"

"I'm not getting out of this bed," Rose replied slowly, as if she was speaking to idiot.

"You're just making it too easy," he replied, seizing her waist and pulling him towards him. Which actually proved quite difficult because the amount of fabric wrapped around her increased her body mass significantly. Scorpius dug his hands into the puffiness searching for the gap, and then when he found it, managed to prize it open and wiggle himself into her cocoon. His bare arms wrapped possessively around her waist, and though she protested at first, she soon relaxed into his firm chest, and closed her eyes again.

Back to sleep.

Well that hadn't been the aim.

Caressing her skin gently in circles and feeling her body against his only amused Scorpius for a few minutes. Then he was bored again. What was he supposed to do enjoy this? Lie here still? Until she woke up? He wasn't going to sleep. How did people manage to do this? It was so boring. Yeah, it was nice, and he loved feeling intimate with his girlfriend, but really a few minutes was enough. Maybe he should wake her up again. He gazed down at her, his slight movement causing her to stir slightly. She looked so serene.

He sighed, knowing that he didn't have the heart or the wish to wake her again. So he stayed very, very still, and let he sleep, feeling her soft breaths and her slow heartbeat. Karma would reward him for this.

X

Rose woke up more naturally this time, and Scorpius could tell when she had because her chest moved as she took a deep breath and let out a contented sigh. There was a pause, as she took everything in, and then she rolled gently over to face Scorp, gazing into his grey eyes. This time, however, her eyes were not challenging, they were trusting.

She slowly edged closer and closer towards him, and then stretched up, bringing their lips together. Electricity seemed to spark into the air, but not in the same way it had done last night. Last night had been raw passion, desire and lust. This was slow, gentle, and sweet. Freeing her arms from her side, Rose moved them to around Scorpius' neck and his hands stayed where they had been, firmly on her waist.

The kiss deepened, something that neither of them had thought was possible before, but it somehow happened. Their bodies grew closer and closer together, and Scorpius' hands left her waist and began to slowly unbutton the night shirt she was sleeping in, trailing his finger's tenderly along the exposed, ivory skin as he did, and then following the path his fingers had made with soft, gentle kisses, while Rose played with his blonde hair. When her shirt was fully opened his mouth returned to hers once more, slightly more eager, but still gentle. She slipped her hands down on to his neck, then onto his muscled shoulders, and down his chest, snaking slowly, just as he done for her, before reaching his pyjama shorts and slowly slipping them off.

Her thighs pressed against his, exposed by her skimpy briefs, and making sure his hands were stable on her waist, she slipped them off. A long, heart-wrenching moment later, he was inside her, moving slowly and steadily. She wrapped her arms back around his neck and met his eyes with a tender smile, and his hands caressed her waist, the entire time, never ceasing to rub small circles or tiny spirals, even after it was over and they were just lying there, silent.

X

Eventually Rose's stomach growled.

"Hungry?" smirked Scorpius, tickling her waist playfully.

"A little," confessed Rose. Her stomach growled again, clearly begging to differ. "Fine, a lot."

"Come on," said Scorpius, releasing her waist and getting out of the bed. "Let's see what I have."

He led her out into the kitchen, pausing at the doorway to take her hand and hold it, interlocking his fingers with hers. The apartment had clearly been host to a party the night before, streamers hung half heartedly everywhere, and layers of silver seemed to be pressed into the floor. It would have taken hours to clean up magically, so it was a good thing Scorpius was a wizard and could just grab his wand from the counter and with a swish have an apartment that looked as good as new. Effortless.

As was finding food, opening a cupboard, Scorpius could easily find some muffins with chocolate chips in them.

"You're not concerned about calories, right?" said Scorpius warily, he had had too many a breakfast or lunch or dinner with those.

"No," said Rose, indignantly, almost offended by the question. She tossed her hair and chucked out her hands. "Chuck it at me."

"You'll miss," said Scorpius.

"No I won't."

"You can't eat mine if you do," he warned.

"I know that. I won't miss."

Scorpius chucked her one gently, and she caught it easily, with one hand. She winked at him, and he turned back in defeat to find some juice to go with it. Carrying their stuff to the table, Scorpius couldn't help but admire Rose's legs…after all they were on display and he was a male. Rose caught him looking and raised her eyebrows, pulling down her top slightly subconsciously, though it hardly did anything to cover her up. They sat down on the table opposite one another.

There was a silence.

"You know what's weird," said Rose. "I don't really know you very well at all."

"No," said Rose thoughtfully. "I guess this all happened pretty fast, normally people get to know each other first."

There was another silence,

"I guess we could start now," said Scorpius.

"Alright," agreed Rose.

"What's your…favourite flavour of cake?"

"What?"

"What's your favourite flavour of cake?" Scorpius repeated slowly, as if Rose were a toodler.

"I heard you; it's just a…really random question."

"What is it though?"

"Carrot cake, I guess. Yours?"

"Chocolate, obviously. Why on earth would you ever eat a cake with vegetables in it?"

"Because it tastes good. Besides, it's got more sugar in than vegetables, there's hardly any carrot in it at all."

"Enough that it was named after it," argued Scorpius, indignantly. Rose grimaced, because you really can't argue with a point like that.

"Okay, okay. What was your favourite lesson at Hogwarts?"

"You want to talk about school? Are you a complete nerd?"

"As a matter of fact I am," said Rose, sending a big grin over at Scorpius who simply rolled his eyes.

"Okay, it was Herbology."

"Really?"

"Yeah, that's why I brought this apartment. It has a tiny allotment down the bottom, which is kind of like my garden."

"Wow, I never knew that about you," said Rose, surprised and impressed.

"That is the point of this game."

"Can I see your garden?" asked Rose, ignoring the previous statement, and folding her muffin case in half as many times as it could manage.

"Um, yeah…I don't know that you'd want to."

"No, I definitely do," said Rose, linking her ankle with Scorpius' underneath the table. He nodded and smiled, finishing the last of his juice. With a flick of his wand, the entire array of breakfast items were cleared into the kitchen and Scorpius walked around and pulled Rose's chair out, and began leading her out the door, along the corridor and down the stairs.

"So why do you like Herbology so much?"

"Well, I have a mission to make something else look as good as I do."

"No, seriously."

"I was being serious…okay, I think because it's simple. Plants never question you, and you don't need to look after them all the time. If I left my garden for a week, I could. No hassle."

"Not like girlfriends then?"

"No, my girlfriend at the moment is so much more hassle than she's worth."

Rose punched him playfully and began walking towards a glass door leading out into a green lawn. Scorpius' arm caught her around the waist and swung her the other way.

"Actually, it's this way."

"Okay…Is the reason your arms are so toned because you garden?"

"No, it's natural," he replied with a wink.

"No, really."

"Yeah, I'd say so. I mean, I work out as well. But I guess heavy lifting and weeding is good for the biceps and triceps."

"Good to know," said Rose, clinging to his left arm. Not at all so she could feel said biceps and triceps at all. Obviously.

"Right, here we are," said Scorpius. He led Rose out into a small allotment. It was about 30m². But it didn't seem small, there was so much around, and yet everything had its own space. There was a large plant in the middle that resembled a beanstalk, with large thick green leaves, that just held water. Every so often, some water would drip from leaf to leaf and hit the floor with a gentle splash. Along the fence, vines grew and twisted spurting flowers of red, purple and white. Vegetable lines grew perfectly straight a few inches from the vines and the distance between were filled with tiny, smooth pebbles. Lush grass covered the garden, and various stones were placed around, all with rows of flowers circling them. Above, the beanstalk had created some kind of canopy, but the ivy on the fence managed to cling on to it, meaning that flowers cascaded down. A few shards of sunlight came through but the garden still seemed to glow.

Gasping Rose turned to Scorpius. "This is amazing. It's so beautiful."

Part of Scorpius wanted to say something sarcastic, and part of Scorpius wanted to say something about how beautiful Rose herself was. But he contented himself with a nod.

"What are those vegetables?"

"They're Thompson Squashes, named after the Herbologist who discovered them. They're used for cooking, but if you ground up the seeds and use them in a potion they can be quite dangerous, they're often used in poison."

Rose nodded, admiring the striking purple vegetables, which were shaped somewhat like pumpkins. The only sound in the garden was the pitter-patter and splash of the water falling from the beanstalk.

"I've never brought anyone here before," said Scorpius, breaking the silence. "No other girls, none of the guys. Not even Joe."

"They're missing out its amazingly beautiful."

"It's actually designed for utility rather than beauty. Everything has a use," he murmured.

"What do these plants do?" she asked, pointing to some of the dangling flowers, which upon closer inspection appeared to be furry.

"The oil is used as broomstick polish," explained Scorpius. "And the little bud in the middle glows when it's the most full of oil. It looks beautiful in the night time. Maybe I'll show you some time…if you behave."

"I will most definitely behave," Rose said, turning to him with a giggle. He put his hands on her hips and pulled her closer to him.

"I hope so," he whispered, before closing the distance between their lips with a lingering kiss.

X

"I've got to get back," Rose said, after a while. "Al's going to wonder where I am."

"He can deal, can't he?"

"No, he'll freak. He's calm most of the time, but when he's worried. He's like a rogue bludger, just completely and utterly out of control."

"A few more minutes," Scorpius begged, kissing Rose's arm.

"No, I have to go," she said, kissing him quickly on the lips. Or at least she intended it to be quick. But that failed. After it broke she hurried out and apparated to her bedroom. She changed quickly and then apparated back into the corridor waved her wand and opened the door.

"Where the hell have you been?" demanded Al.

"Just on a walk, it's such a lovely day."

Al's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but he let it go. "How was that party you were at last night?"

"It was alright. But it was at Sc-Malfoy's, so it was sullied by his presence."

Albus laughed. "I'll bet it was. What have you got planned for the rest of today?"

"Nothing much, why?"

"Well, I was thinking that I could treat my favourite cousin to lunch."

"You can't say I'm your favourite, the others will be offended. You have to keep it to yourself."

"Ah, I tell everyone that they're my favourite cousin," said Al, waving it off. "Also, see if Olivia's up for coming, I haven't seen her for like three weeks and its next weekend we go to France."

"What?"

"We're going to that cottage, remember? That Olivia's family own? By the lake?"

"Oh, yeah. Of course, sorry. Momentarily slipped my mind. I've been so busy recently."

"Well, that's what happens when you become an Auror, I suppose…though, surely there's not much trouble going on nowadays."

"Nothing recently," Rose confirmed. "Shall I pop around to Olivia's and meet you somewhere?"

"Four-eyed toad?"

"Ah, good choice. My favourite."

"See, I know all this about my favourite cousin," said Al, with a wink. Rose rolled her eyes and headed over to Olivia's apartment. Merlin, she was travelling a lot today. And socialising a lot. It was bloody exhausting and it was only lunch time.

"Olivia," she called. Her friend moved out slowly, almost corpse like.

"Rose, hey."

"You need hangover drought don't you?"

"So. Badly."

"Why haven't you got any yet?"

"My head hurts so much, there is no way I am searching through all those cupboards. They're all so noisy and horrible."

"Alright, I'll get it."

"Top left," instructed Olivia, heading back to the sofa. Rose tentatively began looking through her friends cupboards in order to find the drought. There wasn't much left in there at all, but there was just enough. Olivia drank it slowly, and as she did so, her face seemed to regain some of its usual colour. After ¾ of it had been drunk, Olivia started to regain her smile and liveliness. It was like watching a soaking curl dry but speeded up. It just suddenly went from flat and then sprung into life.

"Are you up for lunch with Al?"

"Yeah, I haven't seen him for ages."

"Cool. We need to discuss France together."

"Oh yes. I was planning to bewitch the portkey this weekend, so we need to decide a time and where we're going to meet."

"Pretty much."

"Cool," said Olivia, enthusiastically. "Let me just go and get dressed and then we can get down to business."

X

Scorpius leant over with his hands together and just stared into space, into his garden. He hadn't left it like Rose had. He was still there. Thinking. It was quiet here, there were no remnants of the person he was around other people. It wasn't so much that he didn't like that person, because he loved being the guy with the parties who was in the gang. But here, the garden was real. And he had worked hard on it.

He'd breezed through the lessons at Hogwarts and easily landed a job at the profit. He didn't have to work to pick up girls at all really, his smile just did it all for him. Yeah, his surname sometimes created problems, but it wasn't like they were the type that couldn't be worked through with charisma. By forcing himself to become someone impressive earlier on in his life rather than someone genuine.

But here. Well, he had laboured. He hadn't used his wand at all. This was all his work, his labour and he enjoyed being here. He enjoyed having worked for it. It was far better than having things handed to you. And maybe that was why he liked Rose so much. Because she had been a challenge to get, and she had held his interest.

But, he knew in his heart that that was only partially true. The girl was captivating, well and truly. He couldn't get her out of his head. And he had shown her here, and he didn't regret it at all, like he feared he would.

No, he didn't regret it at all.

It was a funny feeling, that was squiggling and wiggling around in his stomach as he thought about her. Not altogether unpleasant – just funny. Smiling to himself, he got up and left the garden, because in all honesty – the deep thinking was exhausting. The brain had now been overworked as he psycho-analysed himself and his – pause – feelings. Guys shouldn't just sit around and think about their emotions. He'd have to go find something manly to do to make up for it.

X

Surprisingly quickly, Rose managed to gather everyone at Al's request in the four-eyed toad for lunch. Which considering how long Olivia normally took to get ready was pretty impressive. Like Order of Merlin impressive.

"So, Olivia," began Al, who was a notoriously fussy eater. Harry and Ginny often joked about fighting in a Wizarding War seemed like colouring compared to getting Al to try new foods. "Is it true they eat frogs in France?"

"That's muggles," said Olivia. Al let out a sigh of relief. "We eat newts."

Al looked as though he were curdled milk. Rose giggled, though she was only half-sure Olivia was joking.

"You must try some, they're delicious," she continued. There was no response, other than stares of horror and disgust from Al.

"So, I think we should leave as early as we can on the Friday to maximise time, and as late as everyone can manage on the Sunday."

"Sounds good," said Rose, digging into her Pork. "We'll finish work at about five, I think?"

"Yeah, what about you Al?"

"4.30 on Friday, supposing I work later this week."

"Not Wednesday," said Rose. "James, Lily and Lysander are coming for dinner and I don't think I can control your brother for little more than five minutes."

"True and the Canons are playing on Tuesday. Thursday?"

"Yeah, that's probably a good day. We won't be doing anything other than packing."

"You mean throwing t-shirts into bags?"

"Al," groaned Rose. "You need to learn to pack properly."

"No," insisted Al.

"Yes."

"No."

"YES."

"SHUT THE HELL UP." Yelled Olivia. A couple of people turned to look at them. They all put their heads down and tucked in as though nothing had happened. Nothing at all out of the ordinary.

"6.00 Sharp, my place," hissed Olivia. "And don't argue like that, it's so annoying. You're not five anymore guys."

"Al is inside," said Rose, rubbing her cousin's hair affectionately. As if it could get any messier.

"Alright…So when do I get to meet this boyfriend of yours?" asked Al, steering the conversation on.

"You know Joe, don't you?"

"Yeah, but still. He should come and hang out with us some time."

"When do you want to?" asked Olivia. "Ooh, I could invite him to France."

"Yes, do it!"

Rose paused, stirring her mash, considering. Then she spoke up.

"What about Malfoy?"

"What about him?" said Al.

"Well, I think if we invite Joe, we have to invite him."

"You don't even like him, right?"

"No of course not. But it's only one weekend. It could be fun. Besides, we really can't invite Joe without him."

Olivia nodded and put on her puppy eyes. Al looked everywhere but at her, but to no avail. No one could resist the puppy eyes.

"Fine, they can both come. But I'm going to make this clear. If Malfoy so much as lays a finger on my favourite cousin at any point, ANY POINT, I will get my bare hands and fucking strangle him…"

**I'm back! Hope you all had amazing summers and enjoyed the latest chapter. Hopefully another one will be up soon! Massive thanks to Parvati48, LillyMay77, ronandhermioneismagical, anonima15, Guest, skittlezsparkler, Guest and Foxglove Brown for their lovely reviews!**

**Let me know what you think...**


	10. Chapter 9: Drinks and Dinner

"So let me get this straight," repeated Scorpius. "You're inviting me to go on holiday with you?"

"Yes."

"But not as a couple?"

"That's right."

"As people who hate each other?"

"Yep," confirmed Rose, observing his forehead crease from her position at the other end of the sofa. She had returned to his place that evening, having told Al that she had some last minute shopping to do and would rather do it alone. This had the downside of her having to actually buy stuff, so she had spent a few galleons on the cheapest t-shirts that she could find, before apparating over to Scorp's and telling him the plan.

Which he was still taking in.

Because he seemed to actually be quite dense in reality.

"Do you get it?" she asked tentatively.

"Yeah, of course. It's not that hard to get…I just have a question…but I don't know if it's stupid or not…"

"It probably is," sighed Rose. "But what is it?"

"Do we have sex?"

"We hate each other, Scorpius – remember?" Rose prompted, rolling her eyes.

"People have hate sex all the time," he said, raising his eyebrows cheekily and smirking. Normally Rose loved this because it was really sexy, but at this point in time she hated it for the same reason. It would not do to want him while she told him that they wouldn't be having sex.

"I don't," she replied, tossing her hair back and pretending to be annoyed rather than attracted to him.

"Well, I'm glad. You've just confirmed that you don't hate me," he said, grabbing her waist gently and pulling her towards him. Merlin knows how he managed to stretch that far with such little effort, but he was quite tall Rose supposed.

"Of course I don't hate you. I just think you're an annoying toe-rag," she said, biting her lip and trying to count to ten in her head.

"That's what you say," he replied, wrapping his arms tighter around her waist like a boa constrictor. "But I think you actually quite like me…"

"Don't get your hopes too high," Rose murmured in a low voice, pushing a strand of his hair back from his face, before turning to wrap her legs around his torso. "You'll only be disappointed," she whispered suggestively, before pulling back and beginning to move off him.

Reacting quickly had always been Scorpius's strong point, so his arms were back around her and she was pressed into his chest in a tight embrace again in no time. Which was what she had been relying upon, so no resistance was put up to this, whatsoever. Scorpius nuzzled his face into her shoulder affectionately.

"You smell really good," he told her.

"Thanks, I had my first shower for a year today."

Scorpius chuckled but didn't move his head. Just about managing to free one arm from the vice-like grip, after much wiggling, Rose was able to fiddle and play with her boyfriend's blond hair. The minutes ticked by in a comfortable warm silence.

"What have you got planned for this week?" asked Scorpius, breaking the silence. "When can I see you?"

"Well, on Tuesday I'm watching the Canons match with Al, Wednesday we have some family over and Thursday I'm making sure Al packs properly. So really only Monday, because we leave Friday. Does that work for you?"

"Yeah, I could do Monday. Wednesday is my dinner with my mother, and I should probably pack Thursday as well. Are you sure you don't want to supervise me instead of your cousin?"

"Not a case of want I'm afraid. Al is still five at heart," replied Rose, affection shining through her voice as she spoke about Al.

"Fine. Monday it is then."

"Here?"

"How about I take you on a proper date?"

"You already have."

"Let me take you out for dinner, please. We'll go somewhere nice. Come on, especially as I can't do it when we're on holiday."

He began to put pressure on her shoulder with his head, nuzzling at rhythmic intervals, until she laughingly agreed to be taken to dinner. He then sat back with a sexy, smug smile on his face, satisfied, and began running through places in his mind that he thought she might like.

"Scorp," asked Rose, in her sweetest voice. "Please can you teach me to make those cocktails?"

X

"Morning Rose," called Albus, loudly. Rose groaned and pulled her head under the duvet.

"I made you pancakes so we can have breakfast together," continued Al, pulling the duvet back off of Rose's body. She shot him her best, 'I am a fully trained Auror and if you do that again I will kill you look,' but Al just laughed. The sound rung in Rose's head. It had been a late night last night. She didn't remember exactly.

But there had been some sort of cocktail.

And that had been at Scorp's. And somehow she had ended up here.

Did Scorp get her home?

This was the moment when the throbbing in Rose's head reminded her not to think. Or more like not to drink.

"Al," Rose croaked. "I don't want to get up."

"You drank last night, didn't you? Rose – why?"

"Thought it would be fun," she murmured.

"Oh dear," said Al, sitting on her bed and stroking her hair as if she was five – which was oddly soothing. "Shall I nip out and get something for you?"

Rose nodded weakly.

"Are you going to be sick?" Al asked, concern lacing his voice. Rose contemplated the feeling in her stomach and decided she wasn't. Then she remembered to try not to think.

"Okay, well I'll get a stronger one then."

Rose was vaguely aware of the front door close, gently. Al was a sweetie. She rolled over and pulled the covers back over her head. Then there was a pop. Who the fuck was that?

"Morning," said Scorpius, an amused tone to his voice.

"Go away. You did this to me."

"No, I tried to stop you. I showed you to make one and we enjoyed and then you just kept going and going and I told you not to, but nobody listens to me."

"Oh you poor baby," said Rose, sarcastically.

"I know," joined in Scorp. He settled himself down on Rose's bed.

"You can't stay here; Al will be back in a second. Also, how did you get me here last night?"

"Well, actually you got yourself here, I side-alonged to make sure you were alright. We stopped in a few interesting places. Two alleys, Hogsmeade and what I believe was your parents house…"

"Please tell me that they didn't see you."

"No, I don't think they were there. I only knew it was your house from the family photos. You were a cute five year old by the way."

Rose groaned.

"No, I mean it," said Scorp, nudging her, or trying to, seeing as she was covered in duvet. Although he supposed it was successful, because due to Rose's auror strength, he found himself on the floor only moments later.

"Hey," he called out, starting to stand up and then he froze. The door had just opened.

"Rose?" called Al. "How are you feeling?"

His footsteps were getting closer.

"Quick, get out!"

And Scorpius was gone, in a pop. Al opened the door his eyes suspicious.

"Was anyone in here?"

"Nope, just me," replied Rose, sounding falsely cheery.

"You don't sound as grumpy…"

Damn those perceptive Potter genes.

"I didn't want to be rude to my favourite cousin," lied Rose. Albus paused and then beamed.

"Am I really your favourite?"

"Only if you give me the potion right now," threatened Rose. Albus nodded and used his wand to pour it into a small cup for her to drink.

It was vile.

Why is everything that's good for you vile?

"Well, I guess I'm your favourite cousin now," said Al, as Rose grimaced and choked.

"I hate your cheerfulness."

"But you love my pancakes, and I picked up some Higgleberries when I was out – somebody's favourite…"

"Thanks, Al."

"Any time," he said, happily leading her to the kitchen. Rose followed him guiltily, when he was being so nice to her, it was awful that she spent most of her time lying…

X

Monday night came sooner than expected. Normally time has this annoying tendency to take forever when you are waiting for something special. And Scorpius did have something special in mind. It wasn't expensive, even after such a short time with Rose; he knew that taking her somewhere expensive would not impress her. She wanted somewhere different, and of course, somewhere where nobody they knew would be.

Which is why they were going to a little Chinese restaurant called Pháp thuật, where they served the most incredible food. The whole restaurant was lain out so you ate on low benches, with lanterns hanging all around.

When Scorpius led Rose in she gasped in surprise and her whole face lit up in a massive smile, which made Scorpius' insides turn to jelly.

Of course that smile remained on her face when she saw the menu; Fried Doxy Spring Rolls, Noodles with Roasted Pork and Pumpkin, Dumplings stuffed with Beef and rare spices…

After they had ordered, which took a surprisingly long time. Rose had become quite indecisive but after Scorpius' promise they could come back here as many times as she wanted, she had eventually made her choice: Roasted Squid, stirred into a plate of mixed vegetables and herbs cooked in the traditional way.

"This place is amazing."

"Isn't it? My parents used to take me here for my birthdays when I was growing up."

"Really? What are you parents like?"

"Well, my Dad is rather," Scorpius sighed as he tried to find the words. "Withdrawn. The war…changed him and matured him. He had a pretty hard time during it, he doesn't like to talk about it much. He always tried to concentrate on the here and now instead, but often when we were going out as a family, people would stare – and you could tell that he just wanted the ground to swallow him up. My mum, well she's the opposite. She's wild and she'll do absolutely anything for fun or attention. She's perfect for him; they balance each other out…"

"She sounds amazing."

"Yeah, I'd like for you to meet her one day."

"I'd offer for you to meet my parents, but my dad warned me off you on the first day of Hogwarts," laughed Rose. "Ooh the foods here, that was quick."

"The service is amazing here," confirmed Scorpius. "Yeah, I don't know what my dad would do if I brought a Weasley home with me, I don't think he'd mind."

"I hope not," said Rose, digging into her food.

"What are your parents like?"

"My mum is incredible, she's hyper-organised, really bright and she works so hard. She's always busy though. So is my dad, he's Deputy of the Auror Department, so he always has a lot to organise. Growing up, it was really just Hugo and me for a lot of it, but now he's abroad in Norway, exploring or something."

"Ah, I wish I'd had siblings," said Scorpius wistfully.

"There were so many times when I wished I was an only child. Little brothers are the most irritating creatures on the entire planet. There really isn't anything more annoying. But at the end of the day, I wouldn't swap Hugo for anything."

Scorpius nodded, twirling a noodle around with his chopsticks, thoughtfully.

"You have loads of cousins as well, don't you?"

"Yeah, way too many. I can't keep track of all the birthday's, and I have to keep track of them for both me and Al – he's so useless at stuff like that."

"He's lucky he has you then," said Scorpius. Rose nodded.

"Do you not have any cousins?"

"No my mother's sister didn't want children, so I'm the only one."

"I bet your grandparents spoil you then," said Rose.

"My grandmother certainly does," laughed Scorpius. "I was always told I was her favourite grandchild, regardless of being the sole one."

Rose laughed, finishing her meal. Which had been bloody good. Scorpius payed quickly after finishing his, and payed surprisingly little for the quality of the service. Outside, the air was cool and the street was dark. Rose shivered.

"I'd give you my jacket, but I guess you don't want to have to think of some explanation," said Scorp, rubbing her arms for her, and then hugging her close to him.

For warmth, obviously.

"It's fine. I need to get home soon anyway."

She pulled away, reached on to her tiptoes and gave him a quick kiss.

Or what was meant to be a quick kiss.

It soon developed into a tender one, then a long one, then a passionate one – his hands running through her red curls, and her hands clutching at his shoulders and pulling him down closer to her body. Wolf whistles erupted from somewhere, Scorpius took that as his queue to break away, a slight brush prominent on both their features as one after the other, they apparated to their respective homes.

X

Tuesday night passed easily for Rose, munching popcorn and watching the Canons scrape a victory. Wednesday though, had become an ever present worry by the time she went to bed. Al couldn't cook, and she had to somehow entertain Lily, James and Lysander, while making sure Al was civil to Ly.

Al wasn't just protective of his favourite cousin.

So when she was stirring the sauce for the Pork she had made, she did not take well to James appearing behind her. There was a definite screech and there may be marks on the ceiling for a while…

"James, never do that again," Rose threatened, but her cousin simply laughed like the douche bag he was and wrapped his arms around in a bear hug, that nobody could escape from. Al watching from the sofa laughed, only to find James on top of him ruffling his hair moments later. Al shoved him back and within moments a wrestling match had ensued.

Boys will be boys.

Thankfully, Lily arrived moments later with Lysander in tow.

"Hey Rose," she said, hugging her cousin and then allowing Rose to hug Ly, before surveying her brothers with mild interest.

Definitely the preferred kind of arrival.

"Hi Lily, hello Ly. How's it going?"

"Yeah, it's going well. Lysander's band got a really big gig," beamed Lily.

"Lily, stop telling people," moaned Lysander, running a hand through his hair modestly, though the smile on his face revealed how chuffed he was.

"Ly, you want them to come don't you?" said Lily, sounding exasperated, though she batted her eyelids at him as she did so, clearly showing she wasn't that annoyed. "How long have these two been at it?"

"Only a few minutes," explained Rose.

"I guess, we'll let them continue then," shrugged Lily, helping herself to some crisps and getting a good view of the action.

X

Scorpius checked his tie was right one more time before heading out to meet his mother. It occurred to him that he was only meeting her, and not his father, and he wondered why this was. Not for long though, as his attention was soon diverted by a girl with ginger hair.

Who was not Rose.

Damn it. He was really starting to fall for her, a frightening thing to admit, even when it was just to himself. Some time he should introduce her to his parents, maybe after France. Which was, by his count, just under 48 hours away…

That was going to be a good weekend.

The secrecy thing could be seriously fun, plus a whole weekend with Rose was definitely on his list of things to do.

Entering the restaurant, he could see his mother sitting alone, so he hurried over to join her. She had pre-ordered for him, clearly gotten impatient.

"So, how are you Scorpius?"

"I'm good," he replied. "How are you?"

"And how's work going?"

"Really well, actually. I was thinking of trying to break into a more political genre of writing, but it's proving quite challenging because it's such a competitive area."

His mother nodded, graciously accepting the food as it arrived.

"Well, I think you write well," she told him.

"You have to say that. You're my mother," he told her.

"True," agreed Astoria. Scorpius noted something was off, normally his mother would be full of banter and liveliness but today she seemed rather down, tense even. He continued to chatter about work and his friends, but after she ordered the check, he looked at his mother seriously.

"Mother, what's wrong?"

"Scorpius, this isn't easy for me to say. And remember that we still love you, and it's not permanent. But your father and I are taking some time apart from one another. I'm living up here in London and he's still at the manner."

Numbness was all Scorpius felt, partly to do with shock and partly horror.

"It's probably not forever," explained Astoria, reaching for his hand. "But for the time being we thing it's the best thing for everyone."

Scorpius nodded.

"Say something, please."

"What should I say?"

"Anything."

"How long ago did you decide upon this?"

"About a week ago, but we were fighting a lot before that. Scorpius, are you okay?"

"Yeah," lied Scorpius. "I'm terrific."

X

Sitting down around the living room with the rest of her family, Rose felt a sudden chill. She nipped to her room to grab a cardigan and found, to her shock, that Scorpius was there.

"Scorp, what are you…hey, what's wrong?"

"My parents have separated," he told her, not looking up from her floor.

"Oh," said Rose awkwardly. "I'm sorry to hear that."

She sat next to him on the bed and put her arm around his shoulders.

"I know your family are out there," he said, gruffly. "So go out and socialise, just, can I stay here tonight? I don't want to be alone."

"Of course," said Rose, kissing him on the cheek. "I'll try and get them out as soon as possible."

Scorpius smiled weakly at her, as she turned and left, wishing with all her heart that she could stay for even just a moment longer. But the evening had gone so well, after James had successfully won the wrestling match, the boys had managed to be quite civil during dinner, and the group had clicked almost as it had done when Lily and Lysander were just friends. There was an empty space for Hugo, but Rose supposed that they could all hang out when he got back.

"Rose, are you okay?" asked Lily.

"I feel a bit queasy, actually," lied Rose, quickly. Lily looked concerned and wrapped her arms around her, and Rose instantly felt guilt seep through.

"You feel normal," reassured Lily. "But it is getting late, maybe we should go."

She looked over to Lysander who nodded, and stood up. The boys seemed to take this as the move to go, and despite James' protests that 'it was only eleven; the night was still young,' they all eventually left the house.

"Go to bed Rose, I'll bring you a hot water bottle," offered Al.

"No thank you," said Rose, quickly. "I just want to sleep. Good night."

She gave her cousin a quick half hearted hug and then hurried into her room. Scorpius had curled up on the bed, and was now sleeping softly. He stirred when she got in, and she pulled the duvet over him and wrapped him in her arms. He felt so small and vulnerable for once; she had never seen him like this.

X

The next morning, Rose watched Scorpius slowly open his eyes. The grey orbs lit with happiness as he saw her form, but then dimmed again as he inevitably remembered the circumstances.

"Scorpius," said Rose tentatively, reaching her fingers for his face. He nodded and she saw that she had gained his full attention.

"We're going to France tomorrow," she said. It was the only thing she could think to say, but it definitely managed to cheer him up – just that little bit.

**NEXT CHAPTER: FRANCE**

**Also, might be a little over a week, because I want it to be a longer one and I barely had time to write this much this week. But it will be worth it.**

**Thanks to LillyMay77, ronandhermioneismagical, Parvati48, Blue21, Yankeefan26, Maraudette98 and Hidden Beneath The Truth for reviewing. I'm glad your all excited for the France trip - me too!**

**As always, give your opinion freely!**


	11. Chapter 10: Vendredi Soir Friday Night

**France – Part 1 of Many. (Also, I put translations in bold, but if you'd rather I put them at the end let me know in a review)**

"Right, well this is fun," said Al, breaking the silence. He, Rose and Scorpius were standing waiting for Joe and Olivia. Which was…awkward.

"Yeah, I'm having a whale of a time," said Scorpius, sarcastically.

"Why are they so late?" said Rose, pacing back and forth. Out of everyone, she was clearly the most uncomfortable. Fair enough, seeing as Scorp and Al didn't give a shit what the other thought.

"They're not actually late, they have five minutes," reminded Scorpius.

"Not helpful," snapped Rose.

Al let out a low whistle. "Temper, temper. She sure told you Malfoy."

Scorpius scowled, but his scowl was soon broken by Joe and Olivia rushing in, carrying what must have been the biggest bag of stuff anyone had ever taken for a weekend. Catching them all staring at it, Olivia looked guilty and Joe looked proud – he had managed to carry it after all.

The ultimate show of manliness.

Organising everyone proved to be more of a challenge and despite several attempts, it ended with them thrusting their hands on the port-key in a 'scrambles' type of way, as it began to glow. The world spun for a moment or two and then they were landed in Olivia's parents' house, which was at this moment completely empty it seemed.

"My father will be back tomorrow evening," Olivia explained, when Scorpius asked why it was this way. Joe noticeably swallowed.

"Right, I'll show you where everyone is sleeping." Olivia led them up the old wooded staircase to the first floor. The first door on the right belonged to her parents and the second was the bathroom, but the two rooms opposite were to belong to Albus and Scorpius. Scorpius had gotten Olivia's brothers old room, but he was significantly younger and boarding at Beauxbatons, so it had been empty for several months. On the left, was the room for Joe and Olivia and opposite that was the one for Rose. Rose's room was small, but comfortable. There was a single bed with a light blue bedspread and a fluffy pillow, and small wardrobe that had more than enough room for all of Rose's clothes. There was also a bookshelf, but the books on it were all about French politics by the looks of things.

A window revealed a view of the sea, and the path to it, and following the curve of the bay with her eyes, she could see the main town. Rose had been told it was mainly a muggle town, but there was a higher proportion of witches and wizards than normal, so many bakeries' served things made with phoenix eggs if you knew what to ask. Though, to be fair Rose was satisfied with the idea of normal muggle pastries.

"Shall we all get ready and then meet at 7 for dinner? There's another bathroom downstairs, if you don't need the shower."

"I would definitely like a shower," said Rose, feeling a bit gross already.

"Yeah me too," said Scorp.

"Not together," said Al.

"Did anyone even suggest that Potter?"

"I don't know what goes on inside that blonde, twisted little head of yours. But if it's to do with my cousin – it is to stay within your head. At no point shall you ever see her naked."

Scorpius nodded and fought the urge not to smirk, and Rose had to turn away to hide her own, though the old feeling of guilt did creep in a little. Without further ado, the freshening up and getting ready began, and when Rose slipped on her black dress, she felt good to go. She pulled on a pair of pink sensible shoes though, and later as they walked the cobbled streets was glad of it.

The town was only about a ten minute walk away, and the banter was lively as they did so, but at one point, Rose felt something on her wrist. She glanced down:

_I wish I could be walking with you and holding your hand_

She snuck Scorp a sneaky smile to show that she was wishing the same thing. The streets that they went in were loud and bustling, but Olivia knew the best place to lead them. There were posters everywhere advertising concerts, shows and some that Rose didn't recognize. It was simply a white poster with a funny looking simple on it. The symbol was a book interlinked with a crown in black, which had a claw/thorn like cut-out shape in white. But when Rose asked Olivia what it meant her friend had simply shrugged.

The café they went to served burgers and such the like, so they ordered fast food and ate it quickly, before heading out to the most famous cocktail bar in the whole of this small town, "Le bonne vie." Ordering the cheapest but apparently best tasting round of cocktails, everyone was feeling light and merry.

By the bar, there was young man. He had tanned olive skin and dark hair that fell into his large puppy eyes. A slight bit of stubble crowded his chin, lessening the look of innocence that he had about him. When Albus went to order the second round, which Rose was sensibly skipping out, he got chatting to him, and eventually brought him back to the table.

"C'est Rose," Al said, in his slightly dodgy French accent, that was nonetheless understandable. **(This is Rose)**

"Ah oui, tres belle," said the man. "Je suis Pierre." **(Oh yes, very beautiful. I'm Pierre)**

Rose shook his hand, but he kissed her hand as he held it. Then he sat next to her.

"I told him about you, and he said he'd like to meet you. So I said he could," explained Al. "He's a really lovely guy."

Scorpius coughed to get Rose's attention, but she just threw him an apologetic look, and tried to understand Pierre's rapid jabbering. Rose had never really concentrated when Victoire had tried to teach her the basic language.

X

An hour, the longest hour of his life, had gone by, while Scorpius had sipped his drinks and watched some French guy flirt with his girlfriend. First, he had touched her arm. Then he flicked some of her auburn curls from her face. And now his hand was on her knee.

That was out of order.

But of course, what could he do? Bloody secret relationship. What a stupid idea. He had originally coughed every time he thought something inappropriate was happening but it got to the point where Rose had stopped looking at him, and instead Joe had asked if he needed water or worse wanted to go home.

How the hell did he stop this?

He supposed he could make Rose jealous. That should get her attention. Offering everyone else another drink, he sauntered over to the bar, and returned five minutes later with a leggy blonde from Australia.

No language barrier.

Oh yes.

"Hi," she said, grinning. "I'm Sharon."

Rose looked up at the new girl with distrust in her eyes, and watching her sit next to Scorpius, Rose did the logical thing – scooted closer to Pierre. This did not go unnoticed by Scorpius, who slung his arm around Sharon's shoulder in retaliation.

A moment later, Rose burst out laughing, slapping Pierre's knee while he looked at her in confusion. In French, he had been telling a story about paper-clips. Scorpius narrowed his eyes again, then moved his hand to Sharon's waist. She giggled and whispered something seductive in his ear, her warm breath tickling him. He turned back to her, deciding to be honest.

"I'm sorry, I'm using you to make her jealous," he told her, feeling awful about it.

"I thought you might be," she told him. "And I know it's working – though she's doing the same."

"What do I do?"

"You fake flirt with me for a bit more, buy me another drink for helping you and then you can walk me to the door and see if she falls into your arms."

"What about him?"

"If she liked him, she wouldn't be using him to make you jealous," reasoned Sharon.

"A very good point."

"Brains as well as beauty," she joked.

"I feel a bit bad, leaving you without a hope of getting a guy tonight because you're helping me. Anyone catch your eye? I'll pretend to be your cousin."

He put on an Australian accent for the last part, but just got laughed at.

"That guy is quite fit," said Sharon, nodding to Al.

"Sorry," said Scorpius. "If he thinks that he won you from me, I'll never hear the end of it."

"Your poor ego," said Sharon, sarcastically. "Fine, but if you're around tomorrow, will you help me then? You'll have the red head by then."

"Not in front of him, he's her cousin."

"Right, then you can 'pursue' someone else," suggest Sharon.

"This is so confusing," laughed Scorpius.

"Yeah, I think it's time you buy me a drink and say goodbye."

Scorpius obeyed, walking Sharon across the dance-floor. At one point, she slipped in her heels, and Scorp had to support her body to make sure she wasn't sprawling around everyone's toes. Maybe the next drink wasn't such a good idea. Thankfully, Sharon reached into her bag and pulled out a pair of flip-flops after the next cocktail, which was spent discussing Sharon's gap year – something that muggles did when they got bored of school apparently. Anyway, the flip-flops proved to make the walk to the door far less strenuous.

"Make sure you seize the moment with her," Sharon advised, as she gave him a parting hug.

However, when Scorpius turned around, he saw Rose watching him like a hawk, and he smirked to himself. Especially when he headed over to find that Pierre was standing up, and looking as though he might be leaving.

Great timing.

Then he got closer, and understood. Scorpius didn't speak perfect French, but he could understand sentences and he could insult people fairly well. That was all he really needed to know. What else could you want to say in a language? Pierre, was babbling on about why he was leaving, which Scorpius didn't understand – and by the looks of things neither did Rose – but he was also telling her about some beautiful cliffs, that were within walking distance. Scorpius listened to his final sentence.

"Je reviens tout de suite, et nous irons nous promener," said Pierre, kissing Rose's hand again, more flirtatiously if that was even possible. Scorpius felt his eyes turn to slits. Rose giggled nervously and watched him leave. **(I will come back as soon as possible and we can go for a walk)**

"You're not going with him, are you?" hissed Scorpius.

"I think I will be," she replied coolly. Yeah, someone was pissed off and jealous. Time to seize the moment.

"I don't think so. He's clearly a complete asshole and furthermore your boyfriend forbids it."

"Oh he forbids it?"

"Yes, he does. He's not going to see his woman wandering off with another man."

"His woman? What, so he owns me?" She sounded angry. Why did she sound angry? This was not the plan.

"Don't take it like that. That's clearly not what I meant."

"Oh, so what is that you meant then?" snapped Rose, her voice loud enough to catch the attention of the Joe and Olivia, but her phrase not interesting enough to hold it.

"Come on, let's discuss this elsewhere," said Scorpius, grabbing Rose's wrist and attempting to drag her away. She snatched it back and glared at him.

"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded.

"Trying to get you to move, what the fuck does it look like I'm doing?"

"You don't get to decide what I do, and where I go. I'm not one of those girls who just fall on their knees and beg for you. FOR FUCK'S SAKE STOP TRYING TO CONTROL ME."

"You've had a bit too much to drink," rationed Scorpius.

"FUCK OFF! YOU'RE SUCH A CONTROL FREAK!"

"ROSE. WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? I'M NOT TRYING TO CONTROL YOU!"

"YES YOU FUCKING ARE!"

"'YOU CAN'T DO THIS ROSE, YOU CAN'T SEE HIM' – WHAT DO YOU THINK THAT IS?"

"REASONABLE BEHAVIOUR."

"HOW WOULD YOU FEEL IF I WAS GOING FOR A WALK WITH SOME OTHER GIRL?"

"PISSED OFF."

"EXACTLY."

"BUT THAT'S BECAUSE YOU'D PROBABLY FUCK HER, WHEREAS I WOULD NEVER DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT."

There was a long pause, as Scorpius stared at her in disbelief. Then he shook his head and walked out the door. It closed with a loud slam, and Rose sat back in the chairs, the anger seeping out as quickly as it had come, and being replaced instead with guilt. She shouldn't have spoken to him like that. She should fix it. She was ready to head out after him, when Albus returned.

"Where have you been?" she asked, concerned.

"Meeting the charming locals," he said with a wiggle of his eyebrows. "Oh look, Malfoy's gone, thank Merlin for that. Let's have a cousinly drink."

"Al, I want to go," Rose tried, but Al was taking none of it. Insisting that Rose was on holiday, he eventually convinced her to have another drink or two. And soon, alcohol's most famous effect; stopping worries; came into effect.

X

Scorpius paced angrily on the beach. How dare she? HOW DARE SHE? Yes, alright. He was no angel. Yes, he had slept with girls. But the suggestion, even the idea that he would fuck some other girl when he was on holiday with Rose…that was just…Ugh, there were no words.

When did she become such a psycho?

As if he didn't have enough to deal with, his whole fucking life was falling apart all around him. Surely this was when your girlfriend was meant to be really supportive and offer you loads of sympathy sex. Or was that just another delusional male fantasy?

Why hadn't she come after him?

Shouldn't she have run after him, and they were meant to kiss and then have amazing passionate sex?

Or was that just another rom-com inspired female fantasy that had somehow stuck in his mind?

And this Pierre guy. He was clearly a creep. What sort of guy offers to take a girl he just met on a walk? He clearly expected something.

Only crazy people stick to chatting when their walking.

And they didn't even speak the same language hence that couldn't be the intention. This guy was clearly a prick. He had better watch over their walk, just to keep her safe. Clearly that was the only reason. Yes, that's what he'd do, he'd watch their walk and make sure everything was okay, and then he could interfere if it wasn't.

That wasn't stalking, right?

The term 'following for protection' was probably more accurate.

You can't stalk with good intentions.

X

Rose was ever so slightly out of it when Pierre returned to the club, but seeing his face sobered her up slightly, and she began to decline his polite offer, when she found that frisky Frenchman insisted on at least walking her home. She had to accept at this point, partly because she wasn't 100% sure of the way home but mostly because she was a little far gone, so for safety it was probably sensible to have someone with her. At least that's what Al said.

It didn't occur to her that Pierre didn't know where she was staying.

Pierre, after Rose had ignored his open hand, took her by the arm and guided her out and towards where they were staying, via the beach. As her shoes filled up with sand remarkably fast, Rose took them off and flung them on to the beach, feeling the sand in her bare toes. She shrugged off Pierre and danced around, whooping and screaming. Even Scorpius, from his position in the shadows, had to smile despite his anger at how amazing she was.

Pierre apparently wanted to do more than smile. He grabbed Rose's hands and started dancing with her, gradually moving her body closer and closer to his own, until they were pressed tightly against each other, and Rose appeared to be fighting the urge to squirm with discomfort.

"Rose, vous êtes si belle," Pierre said, before his lips pressed hard against hers and his arms wrapped around her. Rose started to pound her fists against him, but it was no use against his strong frame and if anything his grip only got tighter. **(Rose, you are so beautiful)**

"Sois pas si rude," he told her. **(Don't play rough)**

"Pierre," she said, struggling.

"Oui?" he said, a slight tone of menace in his voice. **(Yes?)**

"GET OFF ME!"

"Ne me dis pas que tu ne veux pas Rose, tu as flirté avec moi toute la soirée et j'ai été un homme très patient." He ripped open the shirt she was wearing, and buttons flew everywhere, landing in the sand and the sea alike. **(Don't tell me you don't want this Rose. You have flirted with me all night and I have been a very patient man)**

"GET OFF!"

"Rose chérie, personne ne regarde," he said, showing her gently, but firmly, towards him. **(Rose darling, nobody is watching)**

"DON'T TOUCH ME," screamed Rose, shoving him away. He only pulled her closer by the remains of her shirt and stuck his tongue down her throat. Thinking fast, Rose bit down. Hard. Pierre jumped back, and Rose turned and fled, but on the sand running was difficult, and her pursuer soon caught up with her.

"T'aurais pas du faire ça salope, tu ne t'échapperas pas si facilement" **(You shouldn't have done that, bitch. You're not getting away that easily)**

This time his hands were rough, and Rose screamed in fear to the empty beach. Or the beach she thought was empty.

"Let go now."

The words were not shouted, they were spoken, but in such a frightening tone that Pierre paused before sneering at the figure of Scorpius Malfoy, who was standing watching, his arms folded. Pierre's hands continued to move over Rose's shaking body.

"I said, LET GO," Scorpius repeated, taking a step forwards.

"Et si je ne…" Pierre began, but he never got to find out what would happen if he didn't, because Scorpius' fist connected with his face, making a satisfying crack, and causing blood to spurt from his nose. Pierre gasped and held his face, before stepping towards Scorpius, only to receive another blow in the stomach.

"La prochaine fois, ce sera votre bite" **(Next time, it will be your dick)**

Pierre glanced up again, saw the determined look on his opponent's face, knew he wasn't lying and backed away, running as he did so. Scorpius turned to Rose, the anger fading from his eyes and the concern seeping through. She looked at up at him, still terrified and still crying.

"You have blood on you," he said gently, brushing at her stained shoulder.

"From his nose," she whispered.

"I think I broke it," said Scorpius, running a hand through his hair.

"Yes," laughed Rose weakly. "But I wish you'd got his dick."

"I did, just not with my hands," said Scorpius, twirling his wand. "It will shrink every time he acts like an asshole…It's practically non-existent already."

Rose laughed again, a bit stronger, but she still had her arms wrapped around her, as if holding her feelings in, comforting herself.

"Come here," said Scorpius opening his arms. Before she reached them however, he shrugged off his jacket and gave it to her to put on. She nestled against the warm fabric, and then went into Scorp's still out-stretched arms.

"How did you know I was here?"

"I followed you," he replied honestly, half-expecting her to shout but half-knowing she couldn't manage.

"Thank you," was all she said. Scorpius smiled and kissed the top of her head.

"Scorp?" she began, after a several waves had broken on the shore. This would have been like something in a romantic film, the boyfriend holding his gorgeous girlfriend in the moonlight on a beach…only the circumstances were not so pleasant as they should have been.

"Yes Rose?"

"I'm sorry," she said, her voice cracking at the end. "I shouldn't have yelled at you-"

"Don't worry about it," said Scorp. "Come on, let's get you home."

**Okay, so what do you think of France so far? Of the jealousy game? Of Sharon? Of Pierre? Let me know, because I have a couple of ways the rest of this weekend could go, and I'd like to hear your opinions so I can write what you guys want to read about.**

**04/02/13 MASSIVE THANKS TO ****XxPtirhinoxX**** for helping me with my French! So sweet of her to offer and really, really helpful. Thank you!**


	12. Chapter 11: Standard Holiday Behaviours

**Just a quick note. Last chapter I forgot to thank my reviewers and I feel awful – so as an apology for my rudeness and a belated thank you, this chapter is dedicated to: Moogan-elicia, Parvati48, LillyMay77, Blue21, ronandhermioneismagical, Maraudetter98 and nick55. Thank you guys so much!**

Scorpius awoke the next morning when Joe shook his awake. That what friends are for after all.

"Joe what the fuck, are you doing?"

"I meeting Olivia's father today."

"So?"

"Scorp, this is a really big deal. We haven't been dating that long and I have to impress this guy and ugh," Joe flopped on to Scorp's bed. Scorpius smiled in amusement at his friend.

"Joe, really. What do you have to worry about? You're a great guy, and he'd be a fool not to see that. Besides, it's not like you're asking his permission to marry her – you're just having lunch today and then spending the rest of the weekend on holiday where he will just so happen to be there."

"Just so happen to be there," Joe muttered under his breath.

"Listen to me Joe. You'll be fine, okay. Now relax, smile and go charm him."

"Alright, thanks Scorp. You haven't really calmed the nerves but at least you tried."

"White lies are good, Joe. Didn't your parents raise you right?"

His friend laughed and then hurried out the room. Scorpius didn't tell him that his trousers were back to front. You could only help out your mates so much after all. He stretched out in the bed, and listened hearing the crack as they disapparated. Then he carefully snuck out to Rose's room. Every creak the old floorboards gave sounded like a scream but they didn't seem to wake anyone else up, so he supposed he was fine.

Opening her door just a fraction, he could see her sleeping, clutching the duvet to her like a life line. She was still scarred from last night, and honestly Scorpius didn't blame her. He crept in as quietly as possible, and sat on her bed.

"Scorpius?" she murmured, opening her eyes.

"Hey," he whispered. She smiled at him, and he lay down next to her. She snuggled into him and fell back asleep and he sat content to just stroke her hair and feel her warm breaths tickle his neck. He couldn't tell you how long he stayed there, but at the sound of Al's heavy footsteps he got up. Rose stirred.

"Rose, I'm going to nip out and buy some pastries. I'll be back soon," he whispered. She nodded and closed her eyes again, and he shut the door slowly behind him, before rushing down to the kitchen to get his wallet.

"Malfoy," said Al.

"Hey Potter. Oh by the way, congratulations on setting your cousin up with that prat last night."

"What?"

"He tried to rape her."

"Shit," groaned Al. "Oh Merlin, is she alright?"

"Yeah, I saw them on the beach and got rid of him. But she's sleeping it off right now, I think she's pretty terrified."

"I don't blame her," moaned Al. "I'll have to go talk to her. Merlin, I can't believe…I'm such an idiot…"

"Don't…don't blame yourself," said Scorpius. He was being nice to Potter. Nice to Potter. What the hell? "It's not your fault."

Al looked up at him in surprise. Obviously wondering why Scorpius said something decent to him.

"I fucked up though," said Al, quietly.

"Yeah, you did do that. But the lessons learned – you shouldn't set your cousin up with anyone."

"Merlin, I hope she's okay."

"She's alright, she'll recover but she's needs time first. She probably wants to think about things a little."

"Yeah, Merlin, I can't believe it."

"Look, she's alright. I'll leave you guys so you can talk to her when she gets up. I'm going to get pastries for breakfast. I think Joe and Olivia have already gone, so it's just us three today. Do you want me to buy a baguette for lunch?"

"Yeah, that's fine," said Al, distractedly. "Thanks Mal- Scorpius."

Scorp smiled in response. "You're welcome Albus."

That was weird. Not addressing him by his surname, but Rose would be pleased. Maybe he was taking a step forward. He whistled to himself as he walked to the bakery, pleased by the sunshine and heat. It would be a good day by the beach, if everyone was up for it. Turning out of the bakery, with two bags laden with bread-type stuff, he saw the familiar face of Sharon.

"Hey, if it isn't Scorpius," she said, grinning at him.

"Hey Sharon," he replied.

"Did you get with the redhead last night?"

"No, there were…complications."

"Damn, I was so rooting for you."

"Yeah, well thanks. Maybe some other time. It's just me, her and her cousin today."

"Her fit cousin?"

"Pot-Albus is not fit," said Scorpius. "We need to work on your taste in guys…although, we could use this to my advantage."

"Scorpius, using me twice in two days?"

"Well, this one is for your benefit. I'll invite you to lunch and you can flirt with Albus, get to know him, get to like him…"

"Distract him, so you can move in on the redhead," completed Sharon, with an eye-roll.

"Oh that might work," said Scorpius, with a cheeky wink. "Hadn't even though of that."

"I don't know why I'm agreeing to this," said Sharon, rolling her eyes again.

"Because you are a thoroughly good person," Scorpius told her. She rolled her eyes yet again. That must be a rate of like an eye roll every twelve seconds. Not even his parents scored that high.

"What time?"

"Shall we say about 1?"

"Alright, and where?"

"I'll write the address out for you; do you have a pen and paper?" said Scorpius. She dug in her bag for an old tattered notebook, which had been filled up with sketches. He scribbled the address down on a blank page, then flicked through all the drawings.

"These are really good," he told her.

"Thanks," she said, blushing. "I'll see you in three and a bit hours."

"Alright, bye," said Scorpius, picking up his shopping bags and continuing back to the house. He found Rose and Albus sitting at the breakfast table, talking. He worried for a moment that he had interrupted something serious but when he got closer he realised they were talking about Quidditch.

"Hey," he said. "I got a load of stuff, so just have whatever you want."

He grabbed a giant white plate from the side and tipped the contents of a bag on it. Everyone's hands plunged in, going for the biggest ones. Obviously.

"I also, got some stuff for lunch – and I saw Sharon, and I invited her to come," he said, tearing at his pastry.

"Cool," said Albus, helping himself to a second. How the hell had he finished his first already. Rose nodded, but she didn't look pleased. After breakfast, she turned without a word and left the table.

"Is she okay?" asked Scorpius.

"I don't know, I'll go talk to her," said Al.

"No, it's fine. I'll go."

Al looked as though he might contest but in the end decided to let Scorpius go and sat back down with his coffee.

"Rose, are you okay?"

"Sharon's the slut from last night?"

"She's not a slut but…"

"Merlin, Scorpius. How can you just invite her over? What sort of sick game is this?"

Then Scorpius got why she was angry. And he laughed. She scowled, so he reached out and hugged her close to him.

"Rose, Sharon has a crush on Albus. That's why I invited her."

"Really?"

"Yeah, why would I invite a beautiful girl round for lunch when I have an even more beautiful one already here?"

Rose giggled.

"Are you feeling alright this morning?"

"I'm still in shock," said Rose. "Albus feels awful, he cried when he apologised. Did you tell him?"

"Yeah, I thought he should know. You don't want to hide stuff from him," said Scorpius.

"No," murmured Rose. It was pretty clear that both their minds had turned to their relationship and how ironic the last statement was.

"I think we should tell him," said Rose, after a moment. "Not now, not here. But when we get home. It would make like a lot easier."

"Alright, if you feel comfortable with that, then of course we can," replied Scorp kissing her head.

"But let's have a few more days of secrecy first."

X

The boys had headed out to have a running race on the beach (crazy people) so when Sharon arrived at five past one, Rose opened the door with a smile on her face.

"Hey," Sharon said, looking slightly perplexed. Oh yeah, Rose was meant to hate her.

"Don't worry – I know you're here for Albus," explained Rose. Sharon smiled at her and nodded.

"Is he a good guy?"

"The best," confirmed Rose. She led Sharon into the kitchen where bread, cheese, cold meat and grapes had been spread over the table.

"So you brought a hot girl to lunch," said Albus, heading in from their run. Both were hot and sweaty, and Albus was smug, having won by just a few seconds.

"Yeah," said Scorpius, playing it carefully wondering where this was going.

"Maybe I'll win her off you too," teased Albus.

"Maybe you will – but I doubt that you're capable of that."

"We'll see."

"Only do it if you're interested. Don't muck her around. Sharon's a good girl."

"Alright," agreed Albus. "That's fair enough."

Heading into the room, the boys saw both the girls standing by the table chatting. Rose wore a long flowing beach dress that tied at the waist and showed off her slim shoulders and long legs. Sharon was wearing short denim shorts and blue vest with a white mermaid on. Both boys' hearts started beating just that tiny bit faster.

Scorpius for Rose, and Albus definitely not for Rose, because that would be very, very weird.

"It's on," whispered Albus to Scorpius, patting him on the back before rushing round to introduce himself. Scorpius smiled as he caught Rose's eye.

It most certainly was on.

X

Scorpius raised his eyebrows across the table and Rose giggled. The outrageous flirting between Albus and Sharon had just come to a climax, and Sharon had just challenged Al to a swimming race. Right.

Al accepted her offer with a smirk, no doubt picturing the beauty in her bikini. Then he had rushed off to get changed leaving the other three alone at the table.

"Is Albus good at swimming?" Sharon asked.

"No," replied Rose, bluntly. "If you think he's fake drowning to get CPR – he probably isn't, so please save him."

Sharon laughed. "He's sweet."

"Well, he's a bit of twat," contradicted Scorpius earning a kick from one girl and a glare from the other.

"I like him," declared Sharon.

"We can tell," Scorpius replied. Rose giggled.

"Hey, I'm ready," said Al re-entering the room.

"Cool, let's get down there then," said Sharon jumping up from her seat.

"Are you two coming?" asked Al.

"Well, I think I'll stay here for a bit, I don't know about Rose," said Scorpius, even though he knew perfectly well about Rose.

"I think I'll stay too."

Al nodded, and then he gestured to Scorpius to come and talk to him.

"Seriously Potter, I'm not going to hurt your cousin."

"Oh, I know…I was just going to say that I won."

"Oh…yes, you definitely did. Your charms are far greater than mine."

"And my natural good looks."

"Yeah, those too," Scorp replied. "You do like her though right?"

"Yeah, don't worry. I do like her. But still, I did win."

"Yeah, well done," said Scorpius, acting as though he was really annoyed at his 'failure'.

"Right, well. I'll be off then," said Al. Scorpius clapped him on the back, and watched him leave, then turned back to Rose.

"Hey," he said softly.

"Hi," she said, standing up and coming towards him.

"I didn't get to tell you earlier, but you look incredibly beautiful," he said, his hands on her waist. She brought her lips towards his, but suddenly a door opened and they sprang back.

"Hey, just forgot my towel," said Al, grabbing it and going again. There was a silence after he'd gone and then both Rose and Scorpius laughed nervously at the closeness of the shave.

"Where were we?"

"You were telling me I was beautiful," Rose reminded him.

"Really, was that my word? I think that I need something stronger than beautiful," Scorpius whispered pushing back a strand of her hair. He cupped her face and brought it towards his own. The kiss was tender, and Scorpius hands were soft and gently on Rose's body, tucking his hands up her dress and stroking her smooth legs, lovingly.

"Are you alright with all this?" asked Scorpius, pulling away. "After…"

"Be gentle," she whispered. He nodded and took her hand, interlinking their fingers, leading her slowly up the stair-case to the room she was staying in. It seemed wrong to do it in Olivia's brothers room. When they got there, Scorpius flicked his wand to stretch the bed out, and Rose lay on it gently. He crouched over her, kissing her gently – on her cheeks, on her lips, on her neck, and slowly working his way down her body, pushing her dress down slowly and softly. She unbuttoned his shirt with shaking hands, and he helped her, grabbing her fingers and bringing them to his face. When they were both completely undressed, he held still a moment.

"Rose, are you sure?"

"Please stop worrying, let's just pretend that everything's normal," she replied, and he stopped hesitating, thrown by the desperation in her voice. She adjusted, but she was surprisingly not as tense as Scorpius had expected, he guessed she probably trusted him and the thought filled him with happiness. She smiled at him from underneath him, and he leant down and kissed her, slightly upsetting the rhythm to do so.

"Faster," she whispered, and he increased the pace, causing her to moan and groan from the pleasure.

"Scorp," she called out, and he smiled again and moaned. As they both reached their climax, the shouts got louder, but knowing that the house was empty neither of them worried. When it was finished they lay in each other's arms, trusting and happy. Scorpius blew on Rose's hair, and she giggled and curled into him, enjoying the tenseness of his tanned chest.

At the slam of the door from below, Scorpius sat up straight in the bed and pulled on his clothes as quickly as possible and left, but not before kissing Rose again on the lips.

"Why?" she complained.

"You don't want Al to find out like this," said Scorpius. "I know you don't."

Rose moaned in protest but nodded because after all, he was right. She didn't want Al to find out like this. She wanted to tell him herself. Even though the idea was bloody terrifying. She scrambled to get into her dress and then returned her bed to its normal size.

When she headed downstairs though, she realised that it wasn't Al and Sharon who were back it was in fact Olivia, Joe and Olivia's father.

"Rose, it's so lovely to see you again," said Olivia's father, embracing her in a tight hug. What had it been, like 2 minutes since someone had last invaded the personal space? Not that she minded.

"This is Scorpius Malfoy," said Olivia. "He's a friend of Joe's from school."

"Mr Malfoy, a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasures all mine, Sir. Please call me Scorpius."

"Yes, yes and you can call me Paul. Are all the boys from Hogwarts this polite? I think your brothers at the wrong place, Liv."

"He may well be," replied Olivia easily.

"Now where is the other guest that you were telling me about? I'm sure there's meant to be another young man? Haven't killed him, have you?"

"He's in a swimming race," said Rose. Scorpius coughed, and she sent him a glare that told him quite firmly to shut the hell up.

"Ah, a good swimmer then? Enjoys cold water?"

Rose nodded and Scorpius coughed, earning himself a glare that told him quite firmly to shut the hell up. Rose had clearly chosen the words carefully to portray her cousin in the best possible light. Clearly, telling him that Al didn't give a crap about swimming, he just wanted to hang out with a pretty girl was not acceptable at this time.

"Well, I suppose I'll meet him shortly. And no matter, he'll be back in time for dinner no doubt. I'll be taking you all to my favourite restaurant tonight. And yes, I'm sure you all want to go and get drunk and be young, so there's a bar just across the street."

"I think I'm up for a quiet night in after dinner – if that's alright with you, Sir?" said Scorp, more answering for Rose than for himself. No doubt she would not feel like going to a bar and drinking tonight.

"Yeah, so am I," agreed Joe.

"Well Joseph, I'm glad you said that, because I would definitely like to get to know the boy who is dating my little Liv."

Joe gulped.

"Papa, it's not Joseph, it's Joe," said Olivia, the strain in her voice seemed to indicate that this wasn't the first time he had made that mistake.

"I will call the boy by his full name for as long as I want," said her father sternly. Then he looked at Joe. "No, Joseph – I'm only playing. I'm not that scary really am I?"

"Yes Sir, I mean No Sir…I mean, the correct and appropriate amount for the father of such a lovely daughter."

Olivia squeezed his arm, but Paul snorted then clapped him on the back.

"You have a way with words, Joseph, I must tell you."

Joe didn't really look as though he could tell whether he was being sarcastic or not, so was rather thankful when Rose stepped in.

"How was your trip, Sir?"

"Productive but boring – work always is. How are you finding being an Auror? Are you controlling crime, or just my Liv?"

Rose giggled. "It's been a bit quiet on the crime front really. Only minor ones that last about an afternoon, and then the rest of the week is dedicated to paperwork."

"What? That's not good enough. You trained up people should be joining the fighting, using the skills that you have."

"I agree, Sir," said Rose. "It's not nearly as exciting as I thought it might be."

"Nothing ever is," replied Paul.

"I don't know – I think some things are more exciting that you expect them to be," said Scorpius, sneaking a sly glance at Rose, who smiled.

"That may be true. That may be true. But perhaps not in the work place."

"What do you do Sir?"

"I work for the French version of the ministry of magic," said Paul; he said it with a groan but everyone could hear the pride in his voice.

"Tell us about that," said Joe.

"I'm going to need some wine and seat first," said Paul. "Come on; let's go sit on the balcony."

He led them upstairs onto a balcony that overlooked the beach. He conjured a bottle of wine and poured out four glasses – Rose politely declined. The view was phenomenal; they could see families – boys playing cricket with their fathers, toddlers building castles with their proud mothers watching from behind the books. There were couples too, young couples massaging sun cream into each other's backs and older ones, holding hands and walking by the sea. Rose scanned for Albus and Sharon, but they were unrecognizable from the other bobbing heads.

"Well," said Paul's voice, bringing them back to Earth. "The French ministry is different from the English one. We vote in our Minister, it's a highly democratic system, similar to a muggle one. Everyone votes for a party, and the party with the most votes wins. Within that party, two people are selected to run the country, and then the public vote again. I believe in England the wizengamot selects someone."

"Yes that's right."

"Ah, well. I prefer the French system – giving everyone an equal say, though no doubt your method has far less complications. We have some wild parties getting power now and again, but mostly it's settled. I am the deputy for magical education, and so this past week I have had to visit Durmstrung, and then report back to Beauxbatons about their systems."

"What did you think of it?"

"I disliked it immensely, it was rather a dark place. It lacked…how do I put this…the beauty of magic."

"Hogwarts was always good for that – even growing up in family full of witches and wizards, Hogwarts amazed me every year."

"Well, that's how schooling magic should be. Magic is something amazing."

They all nodded.

"Right, well I'll leave you with that to think about. I must move my bags back to my room."

"Allow me to help you, Sir."

"Why thank you Joseph – that would be most kind. We might require your help too, Scorpius."

"Yes, of course."

The boys left, looking readily prepared for the macho-ness of lifting bags and joking about who should take the lighter one. Olivia rolled her eyes.

"Rose – I feel like I haven't see you all weekend," she said grabbing Rose's arm and playing with it. Olivia had always been a touchy-feely person.

"We should catch up," said Rose.

"Definitely – tell me about your da- Oh Merlin, is that Al?"

"Where?"

Rose followed where Olivia was pointing, and sure enough an Al look-alike had his arms wrapped around a blonde girl, who must be Sharon. They were kissing rather passionately, it was almost uncomfortable to watch. After a moment or so, they broke apart and pulled away, Al leaving and jogging up the beach, back towards the house.

"Good snog, Al?" asked Olivia, wriggling her eyebrows suggestively.

"I'm sure I was," he replied cockily. Olivia and Rose laughed, and the former muttered something about immaturity. Al replied cheekily, and the banter continued, but somewhere along the way Rose got lost in it, feeling out of place and like a stranger.

She was in a serious relationship.

Al was still snogging random girls.

Obviously there was nothing wrong with that, but suddenly the two month age gap, that had always seemed so irrelevant, pressed down heavily on Rose's figurative shoulders. For the first time ever, she and Al were at different stages in their lives.

And he didn't even realise…

**Looks like Al's going to have to find out soon…**

**Massive thanks to Javellark, toolazytologin, LillyMay77, nick55, Maraudette98, imtiy44z and Guest for their reviews! I love hearing your thoughts, so thank you so much!**

**Until next week! X**


	13. Chapter 12: Dusk until Dawn

Dinner turned out to be a reasonably casual affair, so to Scorpius' intense disappointment Rose donned her standard blue skinny jeans as opposed to a skirt. He would have to cope for the night. The restaurant was up a few side-streets; Paul led the way, with Joe keeping as close as possible while trying not to appear too keen. Olivia walked with her arm interlocked with Rose's, chattering about their day. It was a bit awkward, as that left Albus and Scorp. What made it more awkward was that Albus was under the impression that he had 'beaten' Scorpius by getting Sharon.

It took a lot of self-control not to burst that bubble.

But Scorpius managed.

Just.

As they climbed the hill, the poster that they had seen the other night appeared on several walls.

"Paul, what does that mean?" asked Rose, breaking Olivia's stream of babbling.

"It's a sign for a political party. They are a rather dire one, if truth be told. Their motto is something like 'Knowledge leads to Power, Power leads to Perfection," the distaste was clear by Paul's tone. "There are rumours spreading that they set a series of tortures on muggles to find if their magical ability is just hidden."

"That's horrible," exclaimed Rose.

"Yes it is. But I wouldn't fret, they would never get elected. They have very little support here."

"Good," said Rose, finishing the conversation.

The restaurant was only a couple more paces away, up a few more feet. They were seated on a balcony, overlooking the village and the bay below. The sight was beautiful, and only grew increasingly more so throughout the evening – by the end, it was like looking up on a starry night – lights glowing against the ebony background. They weren't even allowed to glance at the menu, Paul just ordered his 'regular times six,' to satisfy them all.

And it did just that.

Chicken, Pork, Snails (even Al managed a few of those), plus mountains of French bread, fancy unpronounceable sauces and whatever else you could want. The conversation kept flowing, as did the red wine, and the evening as a whole was enjoyable.

Joe, Olivia and Paul departed soon after dinner, but Albus, Rose and Scorpius headed into the main town by the bay.

"Shall we go clubbing?" asked Al, picking up stones and tossing them lazily into the rolling sea.

"I don't know if I'm up for it," replied Rose honestly. Scorpius nudged her hand with his own, the closest he could get to putting his arm around her and holding her close enough to him to feel her heartbeat against his chest without Albus noticing that something was different.

"Oh," said Al, sounding a bit disappointed.

"You can, Al. You both can. I think I'll head home."

"You can't go home alone, Rose," insisted Albus, shaking his head.

"I'll take her," offered Scorpius.

"I don't need someone to take me," insisted Rose. "I'm a woman not a toddler."

"Well, I'm not that up for clubbing either," shrugged Scorp.

"You just don't want to see how many other girls prefer me to you, do you Malfoy?" teased Al, his tone indicating just a smidgen of friendliness.

"You know me so well Potter," laughed Scorpius. "Come on Rose, let's go."

"Are you sure you don't want to stay?"

"Yeah, it's fine," said Rose, giving Al a quick hug and a swift peck on the cheek before turning and starting to head home, walking beside Scorpius. Walking back along the windy cobbled streets, Scorpius was able to wrap his arm around his girlfriend's waist, and pull her closer to him.

"Monsieur, monsieur," called a muggle man from the side. (**Sir, sir). **Scorpius turned around and followed the sound of the noise. A man stood on the edge of the street underneath the dim lamppost, behind a stand filled with jewellery.

"Pour ta petite amie?" he asked, gesturing to the rows of colourful bracelets and necklaces, the shell earrings and the silver impersonating rings. **(For your girlfriend?)**

"Non, merci," replied Rose. (**No thank you) ** Much to her horror, or her fake horror at least, Scorpius dragged her over to the stall to browse.

"Hey," he said, trying to silence her protests. "Aren't girls meant to love getting jewellery from their boyfriends? I'm sure I'm meant to buy you some."

"After a couple of months not a couple of weeks!"

"Oh yes, because one euro is far too much to spend. I mean look at all the gold and diamonds on this bracelet. It's ridiculous," said Scorpius, rolling his eyes and picking up a blue bracelet with a shell on it.

Rose laughed. "Come on, you don't have to."

"Rose," said Scorp seriously, looking in her blue eyes. "I want to."

Rose conceded.

"Now which do you prefer?" asked Scorpius smugly. "The pale blue one with the shell? The bright red one with the turtle? Or the purple and white one?"

"I don't mind."

"Choose."

"You choose. Boyfriends are meant to choose the jewellery for their girlfriend."

"Only when the girl wants to make their life particularly difficult. Alright…the blue one? Is that okay? It matches your eyes…le bleu, s'il vous plait." (**The blue please)**

"Oui, monsieur. Merci, monsieur. Bon soir." (**Yes sir. thank you sir. Good evening.)**

Scorpius swapped the coin for the bracelet, and fixed it on Rose's slim, white wrist.

"That's alright?" he checked. "Not too tight?"

"It's perfect," she replied. "Thank you."

Admiring the bracelet on her wrist, Rose didn't notice that her boyfriend's lips were moving closer to hers, so when she tilted her head up the kiss caught her by surprise as did the arms wrapping around her waist possessively.

X

Scorpius had gone to bed last night, thinking only about the kiss and about Rose. Nothing else had occupied his mind. But nonetheless, he was tired, worn out from the last few days, so he fell asleep quickly.

Then someone shook him awake.

"Joe, are you actually kidding? What is it now?"

But instead of Joe sitting on the edge of his bed, Scorpius could see the unmistakably beautiful outline of Rose Weasley.

"Rose?" he whispered.

"Hey."

He reached out and touched her face and felt her dark, red curls. "Right, either this is the most real dream I've ever had, and in which case congratulations to my imagination or this is real and you're really in my room."

"I'm really in your room."

"That's what the Rose in my dream would say," he countered.

"Would she do this?" she asked, leaning down, and pulling him towards her by the vest he was wearing. The kiss was brief, but there was a sense of excitement behind it.

"She probably would," said Scorpius. "I'm still not sure; maybe you should do it again."

"You're imagination definitely isn't capable of this, Malfoy. Don't give your brain too much credit."

"Rude."

"Get used to it."

"So, you've come to my room in order to insult me? That's so lovely of you."

"No, that's not why I'm here," replied Rose, the mischievous glint in her eyes shining even in the dark.

"Why are you here then?" asked Scorpius, sitting up. He reached his hands out for her waist but she dodged out of the way of them.

"You'll have to catch me," she whispered, and like a ghost she was gone. The silence and stillness only lasted a moment, before Scorpius scrambled from the bed, throwing the duvet and pillows everywhere in his haste. He followed out onto the landing, and as Rose was just visible at the bottom of the stairs he rushed down, before remembering that everyone was asleep and hurrying in a more quiet fashion. Just as he reached the end of the descent, he caught a glimpse scarlet curls disappearing out the door, and he followed, on his running tiptoes.

Down the path seemed like the logical place to go, and when he reached the beach, he found footprints dug into the sand. Small, slim feet that could only be Rose's. So he followed them.

Obviously.

At the end of the footprints, was a pile of clothes, which vaguely resembled the ones that she had been wearing just moments ago.

It did cross Scorpius mind that she was dead.

But to be fair, he'd just woken up.

When he looked up, he could see a pale figure in the water, the waves lapping around. From where he was, he just about managed to catch Rose raise her eyebrows in challenge. He looked at the clothes again, silently praying that nobody would come out and then took off his home and entered the water.

The sea was cold against his body, and it woke him up if nothing else did. He definitely wasn't dreaming now. As if his imagination would make him wait. He swam quickly to Rose, who giggled and swum just out of reach as he tried to grab her.

However, due to upper arm strength, he managed to grab onto her and pull her splashing against him.

"Got you," he whispered, as he began kissing her neck tenderly. She laughed and pulled herself closer to him, water disappearing from between their bodies until nothing was separating them. She threw her arms around his neck and nibbled his ear, before kissing along his jaw line and up towards his lips.

The night around was still, and the only sound was waves, and the only light the moon reflecting on the water and the dimmed lights from the few houses where people were still awake. It was sweet, and slow and blissful. Something neither had ever done and exciting enough to send that thrill of adrenaline coursing through both bodies as well as the standard amount of pleasure. Rose looked into Scorpius' sparkling grey eyes and had to kiss him again and again, giggling whenever her mouth was available to do so. Scorpius chuckled to himself and held her body, slippery from the salt water close to his own.

She began to shiver after a while of stillness.

"It's so cold," she said, teeth chattering.

"We should probably get out the water; we don't want you to get hypothermia. Wait here; I'll go get a blanket."

Watching him wade out of the water, Rose threw her arms around her body covering any exposed areas and trying to restore warmth. The clothes on the beach looked inviting, and her wand was there, so she could do a drying spell, so she headed in herself to do just that.

The intense satisfaction of being warm and dry was amazing, and Rose was content to sit on the beach and watch the waves crashing in.

She had only done so for a few minutes when Scorpius returned, carrying a blanket and a loaf of bread. He wrapped it around her shoulders, and then huddled underneath with, tearing out a piece of bread and sharing it.

"It's a shame the sun rises in the east," he said after a moment. "Otherwise we could watch it rise."

"Yeah, I don't think I've ever been part of something so cheesy," agreed Rose. Scorpius nudged her gently and she nudged him back.

"It would have been romantic and seeing as we have to return to normality today…"

"Dreary old England…"

"Exactly, we couldn't do it England. You can't see the sun from all the cloud."

"True…but you know what? I'm happy enough right now," said Rose, resting her head of Scorpius' shoulder. "And this moment already feels too good to be true."

"Maybe it's your imagination," Scorpius joked.

"No, I don't think so. I don't think I'm capable," she said, the serious undertone in her voice. It made Scorpius pause and look at her. The area around her cheeks and her nose had been…sun-kissed, for want of a word other than burnt and her smile was there, tugging at the corner of her lips. Yet, her eyes were serious, staring out into the horizon of the ocean.

"Rose?" he asked, touching her hand.

"Yes?" she asked turning to him. He smiled and kissed her nose.

"What are you thinking about?"

She turned away from him and sighed, looking out into the ocean. He nudged her, but not in such a playful manner this time. This was an impatient prompt.

"I was thinking about us," she said, honestly.

"You didn't look very happy," he dared to mention. Why on earth didn't she look happy? What was wrong? Should he panicking? It seemed fine to him…

"I was worrying," she admitted.

"Why?"

A pause.

"It's just…it's all going far too well, and I can't help but worry that…that it won't last…I mean, whenever something's this good…well, something goes wrong."

"Mmm," said Scorpius.

"It all seems too perfect at the moment."

"We've only been together for two weeks – maybe one more week and we'll start hating each other," said Scorpius lightly, hoping that it wasn't true in any way, shape or form.

"I hope not," said Rose. There was a pause. "We have only been going out a few weeks, though. Do you think that we're moving too fast?"

Scorpius considered the question. "Logic tells me yes," he admitted. "When I showed you my garden, I'd never shown anyone it before – and I already spend far too much time thinking about you. It's very distracting," he chastised. She laughed a little, but then sobered up as he continued. "I don't really have much experience of relationships, and I guess that I wouldn't know…but this doesn't feel like it's too fast. I'm not panicking about it or anything. I mean, sometimes I get a bit freaked out about how much control you have over me, but I don't want to slow it down at all…I'm really happy."

Rose nodded, but remained silent.

"I think if I pulled out a diamond ring right now, we could say we were moving too fast…but don't worry – I left it in the room."

Rose smiled a little. Scorpius pulled her closer to him.

"What do you think?"

"I'm hoping it's a big diamond," she joked. She paused. "No seriously, though. You're joking right?"

Yeah, of course…do you think we're moving too fast?"

"Yes and no. I feel like this is how it's supposed to be. I don't feel pressured, but at the same time, logically we are. I've never been on holiday with someone after a few weeks of dating."

"We're not technically on holiday together as a couple," pointed out Scorpius.

"No, that's true I guess," admitted Rose.

"Exactly, and don't panic that it won't stay perfect. We can manage...and anyway it's so unlikely, because you know I'm just so great…"

Rose laughed, and scooped sand onto him. He responded with the childish response of doing the exact same thing. And soon, a whole sand war escalated.

"Stop, stop! It's in my hair," laughed Rose.

"Your hair already had salt in it, it can deal," replied Scorpius. Rose pounced on him knocking him down, though slightly losing her balance and tumbling over herself, slamming her eyes shut to avoid sand getting in them.

"Now sand really is in your hair," said Scorpius. Rose opened her eyes to find him standing over her. She reached up her hand for him to pull her up. He grabbed it.

Stupid boy.

He ended up on the sandy floor next to her, the wrestling match ensued, with heavy tickling and multiple rolling about – and now everyone's head was probably more sand than hair. Eventually, Scorpius managed to scramble himself up, and helped Rose up. They stood, facing each other and panting.

"I'm so sandy," moaned Rose.

"I can help with that," said Scorpius, and before she knew it Rose was lifted up onto her feet and was being carried towards the ocean.

"No, no," she screamed.

"You don't want to be sandy, Rose. I'm doing you a favour."

"Please?"

"It's not so bad," he replied, wading into the water. The splashed from his legs went up on to Rose's back and she clung onto his shoulders extra tightly.

"Are you sure you don't want to get clean?" he asked.

"Please put me down," she begged.

"Alright," he said, loosening his grip and allowing her to slip. Though falling two inches, Rose squealed and her arms went boa constrictor on his neck.

"Don't strangle me," he warned. "Or I really will drop you."

"Please put me down," she pleaded.

"Fine," he said, tossing her about two metres away into the water. The sea was cold and Rose instantly lost the warmth she had managed to obtain. Rising up from the water, her hair falling everywhere all over her face, and looking remarkably like an angry sea monster, Rose set her glare on Scorpius.

"Malfoy, you will pay for that."

She lunged forward, and Scorpius propelled his body weight back, but she managed to grab one ankle, and drag him along in the water, as he splashed and squirmed. When she let him move again, he was spluttering.

"You okay?" she asked, genuinely worried.

"No, can't breathe. Need mouth-to-mouth," he replied cheekily.

"I don't think you need that if you can talk…"

"Are you trained as a life-guard?"

"No."

"Then are you willing to take that risk?"

"Well, when you put it like that…" said Rose, leaning down towards him, tilting his face towards hers with her hands. "I guess it's better to be safe than sorry," she whispered, before closing the final millimetres between his lips and her own. At some point during the kiss, she ended up in the water with him, and when the kiss finally broke, the water was sparkling around them, and they were both sitting down in the water, which came up to about their waists.

Rose sat back with a contented sigh.

"Do you think you'll live?" she asked.

"Can't be sure, but I think you may have just saved my life."

Rose splashed him. He grabbed her wrists before she could do it again.

"No, let's not start another fight. I'm wet and sandy as it is," he joked. She agreed, attempting to hold her hands up in surrender, before realising that he still had a firm grip on her wrists.

"Alright then, truce," he said, letting go. She splashed him.

"Don't test me woman," he growled playfully. He took her hand, and they headed back towards the house, holding hands and enjoying the first taste of the morning sun. Gathering the blanket on the way, Scorpius gave his girlfriend a quick peck on the cheek – just because he couldn't resist.

"Do you want to come with me to buy pastries this morning?" he asked, swinging her hand.

"Sure, I'd love to…" replied Rose, squeezing his.

"Maybe," he said, pulling her slightly closer to him as they entered the kitchen. "We could find a quiet side street to…"

"To do what exactly?" came a deep voice.

That was definitely not Rose. That was Albus.

**Busted.**

**Sorry, that I'm late to update – I've been super busy, but at least it's up now. What did you think by the way?**

**Massive thanks to Javellark, LillyMay77, ronandhermioneismagical, Maraudette98, RosexScorpius4ever and Parvati48 for their lovely reviews – I love hearing your thoughts on everything. It's so inspiring, and without them, you would probably still be waiting for an update.**

**Until next time…**


	14. Chapter 13: Aftermath and Appeasment

"To…find a…greengrocer," attempted Scorpius as Rose gasped beside him.

"That was poor Malfoy, I'm not stupid."

"Well…" said Scorpius, attempting the jokey banter that they had had going on earlier. It didn't work, only causing Al's eyes to flash with rage.

"Al," said Rose, gently, coming forwards and touching his arm.

"Rose," said Al, his anger seeming to falter for a moment, to be replaced with hurt and confusion. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to freak you out – I didn't think you'd approve."

"I don't."

"Then I was right."

"Even if I hadn't approved it's not like I would have killed him or anything."

"Oh thank Merlin," breathed Scorpius, placing one hand on his chest, before realising that it probably wasn't the best time to attempt at humour.

"Shut up," snapped Al. "This isn't a joke, and it isn't funny."

"Albus – please," said Rose, but Al was turning away and heading towards the door.

"Rose, if you had told me before…alright, I wouldn't have approved and I would have teased you and been unfriendly, but I also would have supported it deep down. And I guess that I can't prove that anything that I just said is true – but I would have supported you, because I trust you. Or at least I did before I found out about this whole lie…"

"Al," called Rose, her voice breaking a little, but he shook his head and muttered something about seeing them later before heading out the door.

"Oh Merlin," wailed Rose, as his figure went out of sight, collapsing onto the nearby chair. She put her face in her hands. "Why did that have to happen?"

"Rose?" asked Scorpius, tentatively, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I feel so bad," she whimpered.

"Don't feel bad. Look, go back to bed – get some sleep. You'll probably feel less emotional when you're not as tired."

"Ii should go after him," she said, pushing up from the chair and ignoring what Scorpius had said. He grabbed her wrist.

"Rose, give him time to cool down. Okay? He won't see reason now; he's tired, emotional and possible a little bit hung-over. You have plenty of time to talk to him later, when you're both able to talk about calmly. Please, just go back to bed."

Rose nodded and did what he asked; he followed her to her room to make sure. Then he headed out the door to find Albus himself.

Yes, he did just give advice to Rose that he wasn't prepared to do himself. If he was able to fix it, then she wouldn't get upset again. And that was the one thing he hated most in the world. Rose being upset. Strange how at school he was the cause of it…times change.

Albus was down the beach, chucking rocks into the water. As Scorpius approached he could see the splashes gradually declining inside, as though Al was giving up or at least his anger was seeping out through him.

"Hey," he said, standing behind the black-haired boy.

"Go away, Malfoy. I don't want to talk to you," replied Al. Instead Scorpius stood beside him and picked up a rock and chucked it in – deliberately throwing it so it wasn't as far as Al's. It's the small things in life.

"Why are you so upset?" asked Scorpius.

"Why are you?" retorted Al.

"Childish," acknowledge Scorpius. "But to answer your question, I'm upset because Rose is upset. Rose is upset because you are upset, and now I want to know why you are upset to complete the chain."

"That was more than the answer to my question," replied Al.

"Yes, I suppose it was, but you still haven't answered mine – so shall we call it evens?"

"I'm not okay with it because you're a douche-bag and Rose didn't tell me."

"I don't believe you."

"Why else would I be upset, you prick?"

"I don't know. That's what I'm trying to find out, but I know that it isn't because you don't approve of me, because if it was you would have punched me and felt better but you didn't. As for Rose not telling you, it's not as if we're secretly married and decided to keep it from you, or like anyone else knows. So yeah, of course you'd be hurt but not 'storming out and moodily throwing rocks into the ocean' upset."

"What do you know? You're such a twat."

"I know I've hit a nerve," said Scorpius, looking at Al. Al sighed.

"Maybe you have – maybe there's other stuff bugging me. Are you happy now? Now you've gone all psychiatrist on my ass?"

"And how does that make you feel?" joked Scorpius.

"You're such a prat," said Albus shoving him, though not in an 'I want to seriously want to maim you' kind of way.

"I know – I was born that way. What's your excuse?"

"You really want to know?"

"Yeah."

"Just recently, I feel like I'm being left behind and forgotten, you know? At 22, my dad had saved the world and proposed to my mum. He had his dream job of being an auror and life was pretty perfect…and now I'm 22. I'm single, I still don't know what I want to do with my life…I'm nowhere close to saving the world," Albus laughed bitterly. "And then bombshell number one, my baby sister has been in a relationship for six months and hasn't told me. We were always really close, James and I fought a lot, but we were both close to Lily. So then, I guess I started acting more like a douche, and just yeah. Trying to get Rose to get involved with the bachelor sort-of lifestyle by setting her up with that fucking twat…how could I be so stupid? Anyway, so finding out about you now, well, Rose is on a different stage to me too. And everyone's moving on and growing up and I'm just stuck. Just me. Just Albus."

Albus' speech had started as a burst of anger, sheer frustration causing everything to pour out. The ending however, was sad, bitter and lonely. Scorpius was silent for a moment.

"And fuck, I just poured my heart out to Malfoy."

"People tell me I'm easy to talk to."

"Do people also tell you you're a prat?"

"That's mostly you…but hey, look. Rose isn't moving on from you at all. She didn't want you to find out like this, but she did want you to know. And we are far from growing up – I mean, have you been in a relationship that's lasted more than a month?"

"Yeah," said Al.

"Well then, you've already done something more grown up than me."

"Really?"

"Your cousin is my first proper girlfriend," confessed Scorpius. "Before her I was planning to be an eternal bachelor."

"You should have called me, I would have joined you."

"No, you wouldn't have."

"No, you're right. I hate you."

"Glad we're having such an honest heart-to-heart."

Albus laughed, and it actually sounded…genuine. Scorpius grinned to himself, and tossed another rock into the ocean.

"That was a poor throw," Al told him.

"Yes," agreed Scorpius. "Look, you can hate me all you want, and resent me all you want, but don't be mad at Rose. She doesn't deserve it."

"Alright," said Albus, with a sigh.

"And I know so many bachelors, practically all my friends apart from Joe – so maybe you should come on the next boys' night."

"Are you actually asking me if I want to spend optional time with you?"

Scorpius chuckled, and threw another rock in. Albus scooped down and picked up another to do the same.

X

Rose hadn't slept, how could she? How could she sleep knowing that Al was mad at her? Al, who had trained her to ride a broomstick, who had bought her Alice, her first pygmy puff, who now lived with her? It's not the sort of thing you can just forget about and go to sleep. There was the guilt – that she hadn't told him. The frustration that she had been about to tell him, and then it had all gone wrong. The hurt – that he had reacted like he did.

Basically, there were too many emotions to sleep.

Rose tossed and turned and eventually, padded over to the balcony, hoping to catch a glimpse of her cousin. Which she did. He was throwing pebbles – with a blonde who looked remarkably like Scorpius.

And he wasn't throwing pebbles at Scorpius.

And Rose relaxed – because if he wasn't throwing pebbles at Scorpius – who he hated, he could hardly stay mad at his favourite cousin…

Nonetheless, she had better make sure that other people didn't find out the same way. She and Scorpius would have to be more careful. A noise from behind made her jump, and she turned to see Olivia tiptoeing towards the bathroom.

"Olivia," she squealed.

"Rose?" moaned Olivia, squinting. "Aren't I meant to be the noisy, excitable one?"

"Yes, but I have to tell you something."

"Alright…"

"I'm dating Scorp…"

"Obviously," said Olivia. "Is that all?"

"What do you mean obviously?"

"Erm, let's see. Every time we've been out with him you two have flirted non-stop. Then suddenly it calmed at his party, as if you weren't that interested in each other anymore. So either you two slept together or you were dating and keeping it secret. But he was getting jealous so I assumed it was the latter, plus you wouldn't have wanted him to come to France if it was just a one-night thing…so yeah, it made sense that you were dating."

"Merlin, why didn't you say anything?"

"I did to Joe. He thought I was crazy – so make sure when you tell him, I'm there. That way I can be really smug."

"Alright."

"Cool," said Olivia with a yawn. "So I'm going to go pee, and then go back to bed. But I'll see you later."

"Alright," said Rose. Who knew Olivia was intelligent enough to pick that all up? Clearly, she wasn't stupid – she was an Auror after all – but she'd always seemed in her own little ditsy world. Well, that was one less person to tell, she supposed. It was starting to get later, but the tiredness was consuming Rose – starting to actually make competition with the emotions. The emotions were probably helping the exhaustion.

Perhaps midnight swims and dawn chats weren't such a bright idea.

The warm duvet called to Rose, like warm freshly baked brownies call to anyone within a 100 metre span, and soon she found herself wrapped in it and snuggling down. Her eyes closed pretty soon afterwards, basically collapsing as her head hit the pillow.

X

There was a bout of shouting from downstairs, and Rose groaned and looked at her clock – that was forty minutes of sleep right there.

Ideal, right?

She rubbed her face and few tough granules rubbing into her pink cheeks, which were slightly sore from sunburn. Then she felt her hair – which was tangled to say the least. She hopped across the corridor and into the shower room – which thankfully was empty. Turning on the shower, Rose stood in the cascade of warm, water and attempted to wash everything from her hair. In the end she had to use her wand, which definitely qualified as cheating.

Throwing on her jeans from the night before and a clean vest she headed downstairs, wet ringlets clinging to her back.

"You look nice," Scorpius told her.

"Thanks, what was all the shouting about?"

"Table Quidditch," explained Albus, coming in holding a tea. "Do you want tea? There's some left in the pot."

"Sure," said Rose. "Are we…?"

Albus put down his tea mug and opened his arms, and Rose gladly entered the bear hug.

"I couldn't lose my favourite cousin. With our family it's too much effort to choose a new one," he joked.

"You'll never lose me," she told him, Albus chuckled to himself.

"I'm glad to hear that. And I have re-considered and decided that if you're going to pick a douche-bag for a boyfriend, at least you picked on who's good at Quidditch. It's about time I had someone else's pride to crush."

"As if you could," Scorpius called.

"I just thrashed you at Table Quidditch."

"You cheated!"

"Nonsense, people can't cheat at Table Quidditch."

"Sure they can…"

"How?"

"I don't know, but there's no chance you could have beaten me otherwise."

"Yeah, I could. You suck," said Albus, his voice getting slightly louder.

"I'm going to get that tea," said Rose, excusing herself from the battleground. And sure enough, thirty seconds later they were yelling and shouting at each other – loud enough to wake the whole village probably.

"BOYS! WHAT IS GOING ON?" yelled a new voice, which Rose recognized to be Paul. There was a silence and then some muttering from the next room. Clearly, people were feeling guilty. Rose re-entered to hear the end of Al's explanation.

"Table Quidditch, you say?" exclaimed Paul. "Can I have a game?"

X

"Personally, I don't think this game is that great? Do you think it's that great?" asked Olivia, as everyone with an ounce of testosterone crowded around the table with the tournament listings on.

"It's alright…but not this great," said Rose. "I swear they've been organising that tournament for about half an hour."

"I know – and there are only four of them to organise it for," laughed Olivia. "Hey, I like your bracelet."

"Thank you, my boyfriend got it for me."

"Did he choose it?"

"Yeah."

"Well done, Rose. You have done the impossible – found a man with good taste."

"Joe has good taste."

"No, whenever I stay over I choose his outfit in the morning."

"He dressed okay at Hogwarts."

"That was probably his mum's influence," joked Olivia. "But it's pretty, and it matched your eyes."

"Thanks. I'm so glad that you know now, we can have proper chats again and there are no more secrets. How are things going with Joe?"

"Good, Papa likes him. Although," Olivia giggled. "Last night, I went to bed early and left them talking on the balcony and within five minutes Joe had come back and was in the bed looking remarkably pale. He wouldn't tell me what my dad had said, but I asked Papa this morning and he said he had enquired after when Joe would be asking for my hand, planning to freak him out, which obviously worked incredibly well."

Rose laughed, imagining Joe trying to manage that conversation.

"Anyway, I had to talk to him this morning and tell him that my father was joking with him and marriage was the last thing on either of our minds right now. It took a while, but I think he believes that I'm not marriage obsessed now."

"Better hide those bridal magazines," joked Rose.

"I should buy one and slip it into his bag, just to see what he does."

"You could find it in his bag for him, and be like 'Joe, slow down. Seriously, my dad was joking.'"

"Yeah," chuckled Olivia. "Or, 'Baby, are you planning to propose after all?"

"I hope you girls aren't laughing at our expense," called out Joe.

"Would we ever?" responded Rose.

"You're far too macho Joe, there's nothing to laugh at," said Olivia innocently. Joe kissed her forehead.

"That's what I thought," he responded, and she giggled. Rose caught Scorpius' eye and rolled her own. Albus stifled a chuckle.

"Erm Joseph, if you would like to stop flirting with my daughter for just a few moments, I would appreciate being able to win this game," said Paul, clearing his throat. Joe blushed and Olivia laughed again, but watched with a beam as Joe went to face her father in the incredibly tense and vital sport of Table Quidditch.

"I'm glad they're getting along so well," said Rose, as the boys attention went back to the tiny players flying around above the table.

"Yeah, me too. Have you thought about introducing Scorpius to your family? Or is it too soon? It feels a bit soon Joe and I, but it seems to be going smoothly."

"I don't think he could handle multiple Weasley cousins. It's like Al times twelve."

"Wait…" said Olivia, counting on her fingers. "I thought you only had eleven cousins. And that's including Al and your brother."

"You forget my dad; he counts as two, because he's twice a protective."

"But he just wants you to be happy – I love your dad, he's so…cool."

"Not sure that cool is quite the right word…but yeah, I'm sure he would. I just know he was really protective of my Aunt Ginny when she was younger. Apparently it used to really scare Uncle Harry."

"I can imagine."

"Maybe, I'll introduce him to Hugo first," mused Rose. "He'd be fairly relaxed I think. He gets back at some point this week. I could introduce him slowly to everyone."

"That's a bit too much effort though – I'd say you should just take him to the Weasley family gathering you guys have every weekend and be like 'SURPRISE'."

"Watch him get mobbed," laughed Rose. "What a great girlfriend that would make me."

Olivia laughed, and then the mortification set in, as Paul started doing a celebratory break dance.

Dad-style.

X

Eventually, they dragged the boys away from the Table Quidditch – apparently every game needed a rematch. Much to Al's joy, and already over-inflated ego, he had won every game he had played. In the end it had lasted so long, that they'd missed their portkey, had to eat dinner in France and then apparated home. And now, Albus, Rose and Scorpius stood outside the apartment.

"Are you coming in?" asked Albus warily.

"Would it kill you?"

"Not if I sanitised everything you touched afterwards…stop smirking Rose."

Rose stopped smirking – in Al's view point, as they entered the apartment.

"I'm going to nip out and get milk for the morning," announced Albus, after checking the fridge. "You two, don't do anything you wouldn't do if I was still here."

"Yes Sir," replied Rose, cheekily. The door slammed behind Al – apparently that hadn't warranted a response. Scorpius settled down on the sofa, and Rose brought them both a drink and snuggled against him. He kissed the top of her head. She patted his leg. He pecked her neck gently.

"How far would you go with Albus in the room?" she asked, running her hand along his leg.

"Not very far, I don't want to have any unforgivable hexes used on me anytime in the future," joked Scorpius.

"It's a shame he's not in the room to check we obey his orders," said Rose, scooping her hands underneath his shirt and feeling his toned stomach. He tensed automatically, so the muscles felt even tighter – not that that was something to complain about.

"It definitely is," said Scorpius, playing with her curls, and then brushing her bare arm with his hand. He moved his hands to her neck, and pulled her towards him kissing her gently and hesitantly at first. Rose spun herself round so she was sitting on his lap, her legs wrapped around his waist. He lay his hands on her hips, and she kissed him passionately and hungrily. His hands fumbled around the waist band of her jeans – finding it hard to concentrate on anything other than the intensity of the kiss. Her hands caressed his toned forearms and tugged at the bottom of his shirt-

"FUCK!" yelled Albus opening the door.

"AL!" yelled Rose, scrambling off Scorpius.

"YOU'RE NOT MEANT TO BE DOING ANYTHING LIKE THAT IN FRONT OF ME. GROSS!"

"YOU WEREN'T HERE. WE THOUGHT WE HAD TIME."

"YES BECAUSE IT TAKES ABOUT HALF AN HOUR TO GET MILK FROM THE CORNER SHOP. EWWW. THERE'S A BEDROOM RIGHT THERE, NEXT TIME USE IT!"

Rose laughed. "Sorry."

"I should think you are," replied Al, grumpily. "Nobody wants to walk into their house to find two people making out."

"Sorry," said Scorpius.

"Shut up, Malfoy. I can see that smug smirk from a mile off, even if you're not smiling it right now – you sure as hell want to be."

"I won't deny it," said Scorpius. "But I should probably be going." He kissed Rose on the forehead, and sent Al a glance that said, 'is that appropriate enough for you?' before apparating back to his own flat.

"Sorry Al," said Rose guiltily. "But to be fair, how many girls have I walked in on you making out with?"

"None of them have been Malfoy," mumbled Al.

"No…and that's a pretty good thing in my books," said Rose, seriously. A smile tugged on Albus lips, and Rose knew that she was forgiven. Albus walked over and gave her an impromptu hug.

"So I'm forgiven?"

"Yes," sighed Al. "Your boyfriend may be a tosser, and I still don't like him at all. But he'll do for now." Rose smiled and leant on to her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek.

"Erm no…I think your lips need to be sanitised before they come any closer," said Al, shoving her away. "Gross."

**Massive thanks to imtiy44z, toolazytologin, RosexScorpius4ever, BacktoMack, LillyMay77, Maraudette98 and cdb33 for their reviews! **


	15. Chapter 14: The Ivory Wing

**Warning of lemonnyness later on for those who don't like it.**

The days since the return from France had been colder, wetter and darker. Each day when Albus returned home from work, his black hair was soaked through enough to lie flat on his skull – and he was only outside for a matter of seconds. In other words, it was a typical British Autumn. The leaves flew from their safe-haven of their trees into an oncoming torrent of wet and cold. Quidditch matches were becoming near impossible to go to, hippogriffs were stuck in their stables, basically everyone was feeling miserable.

One of the only things that can undo the misery that can be so easily inset in one's minds by such dreariness is having a smiling partner holding out a hot chocolate with lashings of whipped cream as the walk through the door.

Scorpius Malfoy was a lucky man.

And he knew it. Most evenings he would lay awake, feeling Rose's head against his shoulder and hearing her murmur every so often in his sleep and wonder how it had all happened.

The dark outside, though making everyone else in Britain far more grumpy than usual, had even managed to soften Al.

Sometimes Scorpius hoped that Rose's favourite cousin was just warming up to him, but when he saw Al greedily slurping down his fourth mug of hot chocolate, he began to doubt that he was anything to do with it.

Following the return from France, the relationship between the three, which had previously looking to appear slow and strained was making surprising progress. Mostly there were never any hiccups, and after three weeks of hanging out with them both together, Scorpius made the brave move of inviting Albus to come round one wet afternoon for some gaming with him, Henry, Joe and Rick. The risk had been there but both the question and the acceptance had put a beam on Rose's face.

He was taking her out for dinner tonight. Al was heading off to a club. That was fine, Scorp had smiled when Al told him, not only had it meant that he would finally get some alone time with his girlfriend, but a hangover would certainly lower Albus' chances of beating Scorp on their gaming day, that was actually on the Saturday. A confidence boost could be just what he needed, that Saturday evening he was planning on introducing his father to Rose.

The thing was, obviously, the history between the two families. It had hardly been friendly. The idea of meeting Rose's father for that reason terrified Scorpius, and he was unsure of his own father's reaction. The trial separation appeared to have caused Draco to become even paler and thinner than he had been previously, and when Scorpius had passed him at the ministry worry had twisted in his stomach. He didn't want to cause his father any more upset than he could avoid. But would it cause him upset? If Scorpius was happy? It wasn't really worth thinking about, decided Scorp, as he watched his owl take his latest article to the editor.

He would just have to find out.

Tearing his eyes from the black silhouette of the city on the grey backdrop, Scorpius glanced at his watch and saw that he had a few hours.

The restaurant he was taking her to tonight was not Pháp thuật, where he had taken her before, but was somewhere fancier. Rose had complained and moaned about having to get dressed up, but Scorpius knew the food her and he knew it would be worth it. Besides, he had to take his girlfriend somewhere special occasionally.

He planned to don a grey shirt for the occasion, with his black trousers and shiny shoes. They were all laid out on the bed, ready for him. He wondered what Rose would be wearing; she wouldn't be finishing work for another hour or so. And after that he would have to give her another at least hour before coming and knocking on her door.

The wait and the anticipation were killing him.

X

"So where are you going tonight?" asked Olivia, as Rose scribbled over the vast sum of paperwork on her desk.

"Merlin Olivia – do you do no work at all?"

"I do. But I like to chatter while I do it. Come on Rose, where are you going?"

"The Ivory Wing," Rose replied.

"Rose, I'm so jealous. Apparently it's so nice there. What are you wearing?"

"I'm not sure. I was thinking maybe my white dress, with the lace sleeves. Then probably wearing my hair up and a nice pair of heels. Do you think that will be okay?"

"Yeah, I think you'll look great."

"Yeah."

"Are you nervous?"

"No."

"Yes you are! Why are you nervous? "

"I'm not."

"I'm so jealous – why are you nervous?"

"I'm NOT nervous," said Rose, though she realised a second later that the snapping had quite possible given her away.

"You guys are really happy aren't you?" asked Olivia, ignoring the raised voice.

"Yeah, but it's…quite a fancy restaurant."

"Scorp will not mind if you embarrass him," said Olivia seriously.

"Thanks," said Rose sarcastically.

"No seriously though. I know you're not fond of fancy places, and fair enough. But Scorp isn't doing this to make you unhappy I swear. And you trust him, don't you?"

"Of course I do," said Rose.

"Then stop worrying," replied Olivia placing her hands on her friend's shoulders. "It will all be alright."

"I know," replied Rose. "Of course it will."

"Rose?" called her boss, Thomas Brazier. Her beckoned for her to come over.

"Mr Brazier?" she replied, as she approached him.

"Rose, there is a possibility that we will need your assistance in an upcoming mission. The finer details are being discussed this weekend. Do you think you will be up for it?"

"Of course, Sir," said Rose, feeling excitement flutter in her stomach. Her boss nodded and told her to return to her paperwork, which she did with a grin.

"What?" asked Olivia.

"I might be going on a mission," said Rose, in a sing-song voice.

"Argh, some girls get all the excitement."

Rose had thought about those words later on in the day. After she was home, she had headed straight through to the shower. Al had shown signs of disappointment that he wasn't getting any hot chocolate, but had obviously decided to deal with such a letdown in silence. The hot water cascaded from the Aluminium shower head, and hit Rose's body. As it ran down her back, she could feel the tension in muscles disappearing and her hair loosening from the tight frizzy curls the weather had instilled to hand loosely down her back, pulled down by the weight of the water.

The warm fluffy towel was a comfort too, as was being able to do a familiar flick of her wand to get her hair dry and into the correct place and style. The dress however was not.

It was a beautiful dress. Lily had brought it for her on her last birthday, and Olivia had been in awe and jealousy when Rose had pulled it from the wrapping. She'd worn it only a couple of times, once for one of Luna and Rolf's celebrations of something that was practically unpronounceable, but also at her father's birthday. The dress suited her, and she felt confident in it, but it still made her a little nervous. Partly, because it rather required heels.

After slipping the dress on, Rose barely had time to put a dash of lipstick and a flick of mascara before heading out to answer it. Scorpius stood there with some flowers, and a wide open mouth.

X

"This," thought Scorpius, appreciatively. "Is why people take their girlfriends out to smart places."

Rose. Looked. Stunning.

He hadn't realised that someone could look so fucking stunning, but it was a damn pleasant thing to discover. She blushed as he held out the flowers to her, still too tongue-tied to say anything.

She took them gratefully, and quickly found a vase to put them in, filling it with water from a quick swish of her wand.

"Hi," she said.

"Hey," he replied, grinning.

"Do I look okay?" she asked, nervously running her hands down the front of her dress.

Scorpius laughed. Rose looked confused for a moment.

"Sorry, it's just such a silly question…I've never seen any one more perfect."

Rose thought Scorpius looked pretty perfect himself. Almost male-model like with his chiselled jaw, blonde hair falling casually over his face and striking grey eyes. And that didn't even include his body. Having seen it naked, Rose would've thought it would be hard to ever see something as flawless, but even in his clothes, Scorpius looked like every girls dream. The grey shirt he wore bought out his afore mentioned striking eyes, and clung to all the right places.

She reached up to his face, which contained a dusting of stubble and gave him a tentative kiss. He grinned back at her, and looked to return the kiss before Al stumbled out of the bathroom, with a robe wrapped around his waist.

"Alright," he said, after a moment staring. "I've had the internal battle with myself. Malfoy, I still don't like you but you two make a flawless couple and I think I should probably take a photo."

Rose groaned.

"Get on with it then," said Scorpius. Rose laughed, and leaned into him. In the end, Albus took a few. Some of them posing like a regular couple, his arm wrapped around her waist, calmly smiling and then glancing at each other, but there were one or two at the end, after Scorpius had tickled Rose's waist, where they were both laughing hysterically as Rose tried to regain her balance.

"Very cute," said Al after he captured the last one.

"Send me a few, yeah?"

"Alright. Now off you go. This is the bachelor's pad tonight."

Rose laughed and gave her cousin a quick hug – Scorpius gave the macho nod – before they grabbed their coats and headed out.

The Ivory Wing floated over a lake, that had lights dotted all around the edge, casting reflections into the midnight water. Their coats were taken back off, Scorpius was once again amazed by Rose's loveliness and they entered and they were shown to a table by the window.

"I'll do that," said Scorpius, as the waiter placed his hands on Rose's seat, ready to pull out the chair for her. Rose giggled.

"I was half-afraid that you'd deliberately pull it back too far and I'd fall onto the floor," said Rose, once they were both seated.

Scorpius chuckled. "Would I ever?"

"Yes," replied Rose.

"Well then, I guess your beauty has saved you tonight. I couldn't contemplate doing anything to someone so stunning."

"So normally I'm ugly enough for you to embarrass me?"

Scorpius looked slightly mortified. Rose's leg found his underneath the table.

"Relax hon, I'm teasing you."

He grabbed her hand and held it for a moment. "You know you're always beautiful right?"

Rose laughed.

"Rose, don't look away. I mean it. You are the most incredible girl I have ever seen, whether you're wearing a beautiful dress, an old pair of shorts, nothing at all…" said Scorpius, his voice husky.

"Careful, you'll make me want to leave the restaurant before we've even ordered," replied Rose, only half joking.

"Well, how about we make a fast order, and then head home?"

"I'd say that's an excellent plan."

"Better get looking at that menu then."

Rose did as was obliged, and soon chose a risotto, while Scorpius chose some lamb shanks. They placed their orders and the waiter complimented their 'most excellent choices', before taking away their menus.

"Those were fancy," said Rose.

"I thought they were most excellent," replied Scorpius, a cheeky grin illuminating his features. The menus had been fancy – they'd been made from a thick card and had ruffled edges. It appeared they'd been magically enchanted so that the edges couldn't crumble. The writing was in gold calligraphy and after you looked at one for more than a moment, the smell and look of that meal would be released. It was amazing.

The food arrived as well. The waiter was levitating it with his wand, and as it arrived it spun gracefully onto the empty spaces ahead of the couple.

"This place is incredibly Scorp," breathed Rose.

"Have you been before?"

"Are you kidding? My dad's not mature enough to go to place like this."

Scorpius laughed.

"How about you?"

"Yeah, I went here once before, for my parents' silver wedding anniversary. They hired a huge table, and we had about sixty guests. My parents ignored most of them though, they were fixated with each other."

"Oh, Scorp. How are they both doing?"

"I don't know – I haven't seen either of them for long enough to really know. I haven't even spoken to my mum. Though I saw my dad briefly the other day and he didn't look amazing."

"And how are you doing?" asked Rose, meeting his eyes with concern.

"Could be better, could be worse," replied Scorpius. "I guess they still love me. It's just…it's weird. When something seems so complete, it just feels empty when even the smallest thing is missing…and it scares me. Because their relationship seemed so perfect. They were together 26 years and happy for the vast majority of it…I guess you can be certain of nothing in this world. There's always something waiting around the corner to throw you off balance."

"Do you think they might get back together? I mean, it's only a trial separation right?"

"Maybe, I might talk to my dad when I see him tomorrow night. Speaking of, would you like to come?"

"To meet your father?"

"Yeah, I think he'd like that."

"Alright, I will," agreed Rose. "What should I wear?"

"As long as my father's single, don't wear that."

Rose frowned.

"That was an inappropriate joke, wasn't it? Sorry. Um, I think probably just jeans; it will be a pretty casual meeting."

"Where are you meeting him?"

"Probably at my apartment, though your cousin is coming over for some gaming before – so if he destroys it then we may have to go somewhere else."

"I'm sure he won't make a mess too large for a wand to handle."

"We'll see," said Scorpius, bring the last bite of the lamb into his mouth. "Merlin, wasn't that delicious?"

"Yes. That was heavenly."

"Do you want to share a desert?"

"Yes!"

Moments later the waiter appeared with the fancy menus, and after much debating the couple decided to order the chocolate mousse, purely because whenever the image came up, both mouths began to water. It proved to be worth the extra money and time; it was light and creamy but still intensely chocolatey.

"This is one of the best things I have ever tasted," said Rose. Scorpius winked at her.

"You know what?" she said leaning forward. "After such a meal, my dress is feeling a bit tight – I think I'd be more comfortable without it."

"I'm sure I can assist you with that," replied Scorpius.

X

"As amazing as it was, that mousse held things up," said Rose, running her hands along Scorpius' chest and reaching for the buttons.

"Do you know how I prefer to think of it?" whispered Scorpius, against her ear. Goosebumps broke out all over Rose's skin.

"No," she whispered, slowly undoing the top button.

"I think of it as energy – and with the night you're in for, I think we might both need it."

His lips pressed immediately and firmly against her bare neck, working its way to the shoulders that the dress had kindly neglected to cover. The movements accelerated then, the shirt was ripped open at a lightening pace, and the dress was zipped off and lay on the floor at Rose's feet in no time, as the two stumbled onto the bed, Rose flinging off her heels as she went, their tongues dancing ferociously from mouth to mouth. Scorpius' hands seemed glued to Rose's ass and her hands to his shoulders and his neck.

Suddenly their lips broke apart and his kissed moved their way down her neck, onto her chest. One hand came round the back and her bra pinged off. Scorpius kissed her bare boobs as Rose gasped. He worked his way down her stomach and back up to her neck, as her nails dug into his bare back, then worked their way round, feeling his toned chest and stomach before unbuttoning his trousers and pushing them down his legs.

"You're so beautiful, Rose," he told her, in a pause, before he returned to his work on her neck. Rose pushed him back a second later so he fell onto the soft mattress, and then she clambered on top of him. She wrapped her arms tight around his torso and kissed his lips again, as his hands reached for her underwear and his own.

"Yes," she whispered, as she felt him hard against her. "Now."

He thrust into her and she squealed in pleasure, clinging to him as tightly as she could manage. He clung back to her, feeling her warm chest and her rabid heartbeat against his own. She was panting now, and clearly enjoying it, her eyes closing.

When it was over, he lay back next to her, and she touched his face gently.

"Merlin, I want you so badly."

"I'm not Merlin," said Scorpius.

"Scorpius," she corrected. Her voice was a filled with desire.

"Yes?" he replied, enjoying himself.

"Don't make me beg. I want you."

"It's a good thing we've got all night then," he replied as he manoeuvred himself over her, ready for the next round of passion and animal instincts to take control.

X

Rose sleeping in his arms, Scorpius stroked her exposed arm thoughtfully. He was yet to fall asleep – the adrenaline still pulsed through his body, though his muscles now ached from exertion. He smiled at his girlfriend.

She was so beautiful when she slept; she was so beautiful all the time in fact, but when she slept, she was at peace. It made him feel at peace too. The easiness and safety that she seemed to find in his arms always brought out a grin. In fact it was one of the things that made him love her…

Wait, he loved her? He almost sat up straight, as he realised.

Shit, he did love her.

**Awwww.**

**Massive thanks to: jeka8, LillyMay77, jenmo4981, RosexScorpius4ever, Maraudette98, renoui and imtiy44z for all their lovely reviews. Always makes my day.**

**Also, if you're interested to see the sort of dress I was imagining on Rose, there's a link on my profile.**


	16. Chapter 15: That Obvious?

"You look tired," said Rose, kissing Scorpius on the cheek as she left. "Maybe you should get some sleep before Al, Joe, Henry and Rick come."

"Yeah, maybe," said Scorpius, sounding rather distracted.

"You won't win if you're off your game," Rose teased, feeling the slight crease appear between her eyebrows at his answer.

Scorpius looked back at her and smiled. "Don't be silly, now. This just gives them a chance." He kissed her gently on the lips. "I'll see you later right?"

"Of course, I'll be round at seven. Is that okay?"

"Counting down the hours," Scorpius joked as he closed the door. Except he wasn't joking. It was nine and a half hours. He ran a hand through his hair nervously.

He loved her.

He kept trying to stop thinking about it, but he couldn't. It just made him think about it more. Why are our brains designed that way? He wanted not to think about it.

It wasn't that Scorpius didn't want to be in love. It was more that it was so soon, after all, just over six weeks ago he was going clubbing most nights on the hope of finding a girl to take home, have sex with, never call and never see again. And the idea of the never seeing Rose again was like a dagger twisting slowly around his stomach. It was just a lot to handle – being in love. What if he hurt her? He'd never be able to live with himself. All he wanted to see her smile, and to relax with her like he had been doing from the beginning.

But all he could think is 'I love her; I love her, when she smiles like that I love her more.' Which was great. But you know…distracting.

And wondering about telling her.

That was scary. Because he wanted to, and he trusted her but this morning he just couldn't get the words out – the moment had to be perfect. But what if he created the perfect moment and couldn't say it? It was all too much and exhausting. He'd barely slept. Padding back to his bed, he closed his eyes and attempted to get a small amount of sleep. Maybe sleep would make sense of it all.

X

"Hey," smiled Lily as she saw Rose approaching her table. The café was small and chic, the sort of place that Lily loved. It wasn't too crowded and was filled with dusty bookcases and old mismatching furniture, tattered curtains and strange paintings.

"Hi Lily, how are you?"

"I'm really good thanks," said Lily tucking a strand of ginger hair behind her ear. "I ordered your coffee for you. It's really good here. How are you? How was France? Al seemed to really enjoy it."

"Yeah, I think he did."

"He mentioned something about there being certain surprises…"

"Did he say what they were?"

Lily frowned. "No, he wouldn't tell me. I was hoping to trick you into telling me, but I clearly failed. You're not as easily manipulated as any of the boys."

"I hope you are not implying that you manipulate our cousins?"

"No, of course not. And I have definitely never, ever manipulated your brother. By the way, when is he coming home?"

"Hopefully soon, he keeps delaying it. The current plan is Friday."

"Ok, so just in time for another trip to the Burrow."

"Oh yeah, next weekend is the first weekend of the month isn't it? Planning any more surprises Lily?"

"No," said Lily, blushing slightly. "I think it's your turn, Rose."

Wait, did Lily know? Did Al tell her? That was awkward, what should she say? Should she pretend she didn't know what Lily was talking about or tell her everything? But Lily might not know…

"Rose, are you okay?"

"Oh…yeah," Rose smiled, brushing her hair back.

"You're in a secret relationship aren't you?"

"What?" exclaimed Rose, falsely high. "Did Al tell you?"

"No," said Lily frowning and rolling her eyes. "I know the symptoms – I was in one myself. But you told Al? And not me? Rude."

"Sorry, Lily. But I do live with him, so it might have been hard to avoid. Besides, I didn't exactly tell him."

"When did he find out?" asked Lily, brown eyes widening. "What did he say?"

"In France, and he was a bit angry and a bit hurt I think, but he forgave me."

"He's such a push-over," laughed Lily. "So who is it? When did you get together? How did you meet? Are you going to bring him next weekend?"

"Um...too many questions," said Rose, deliberately avoiding Scorp's name. Most of the family had a burning hatred of the ex-Slytherin.

"Who is he?"

"Scorpius Malfoy," said Rose, taking a deep breath and watching Lily's smiling face transform into a rather shocked one. Then Lily laughed.

"Good joke, who is it really?"

Rose was silent.

"Oh Merlin, sorry I thought you were…oh woah…ok, when?"

"A few weeks ago. Are you angry?"

"No of course not," exclaimed Lily. "Just surprised, I thought you hated him. Is he good to you?"

"Yeah, he's amazing."

"Then I'm happy for you, Rose. It's not my place to criticise whoever makes you happy. As long as you like who you are with and they are treating you right, then what's the problem? Everyone should just scrape out." Suddenly Lily laughed. "I bet Al was thrilled."

"They're working on it. Al's gaming at his around about now."

"Well, if anything will get Al supportive…" said Lily, rolling her eyes again, she took a sip of her coffee. "Well, I'm happy for you. Do your parents know?"

"Not yet, I'm meeting his father tonight."

"That's so scary," said Lily, eyes widening. "I always hated meeting parents. That's why I was so lucky with Lysander; his family has practically adopted me as a daughter since I was a baby. I mean I am named after his mum. But it was still scary straight after they found out. Well I was scared, but they weren't surprised. Luna told me that the behaviour of the finglekeys around us had given it away." Lily laughed. "I don't even know that means."

"I don't think I can help you there," said Rose, apologetically. "I might try and introduce him to Mum, Dad and Hugo on Friday night? Then we could join the Burrow on Saturday morning…do you think that's a good idea?"

"Yeah, that's fine. I think that Victoire and Teddy will be a bit late. They're going to some party the night before."

"Ok. Shall I do it?"

"Yeah, send an owl right now."

"Now?"

"Yes, Rose. Now. Because otherwise you are going to back out of it. And I'm not going to let your life be easy. That would make me an appalling cousin/friend."

"Okay," Rose grabbed a scroll and quill from her bag – what? What if she found out something interesting and had to make notes?

_Dear Mum and Dad,_

_Hope you're okay. I was wondering if I could introduce someone to you, before the Weasley weekend. How about Friday night?_

_Love you lots,_

_Rose xxx_

"That's perfect," said Lily over her shoulder. "Let's find and owl, send it and get to shopping."

X

"Hi," said Scorpius, opening the door to find Al.

"Malfoy."

"You're the first one here," said Scorpius opening the door.

"Damn my overly keen nature," said Al sarcastically. "When will everyone else arrive?"

"Judging by my watch, Joe won't be long. Henry won't be long. Rick will be late."

"Four people to beat? Not even a challenge…"

"You're going down Potter. Do you want anything to drink?"

"No, but you do. You look awful did you not sleep last night?"

"Not really know…"

"Why not? On second thought, I don't even want to know what you and my cousin were doing. It'll give me nightmares."

"Whatever," replied Scorpius.

There was an awkward pause. As in, a really awkward pause. Practically painfully awkward. Then Joe apparated in.

"BOO," he yelled, and both boys turned and surveyed him.

"Really, Joe? Really?"

"Why didn't you jump? It terrifies Olivia…"

"What doesn't?" snorted Al.

"Olivia is a girl," said Scorp.

"I hope you are not being sexist there, young Malfoy. My girlfriend would not like to hear about it, and she is after all an Auror."

"In that case, I was definitely not being sexist."

There was a knock from the door.

"Why does nobody else apparate in? Why apparated to the door and knock?" said Joe.

"I think it's just manners, really, mate."'

"Oh right, I didn't think you cared about things you didn't have Scorp," said Joe. HE was promptly sprayed with water from the end of Scorpius' wand. A blast hit Scorpius right back, and within moments there was a full on water fight, while Al sat there and watched.

The banging at the door got louder.

"ARE YOU GOING TO LET US IN?"

"Get that, Al," said Scorpius.

"I don't take orders from you Malfoy," frowned Al, joining the water fight. Scorpius turned and aimed his jet towards Al. In the spare moment, Joe unlocked the door, and sprayed Rick and Henry.

Boys will be boys, and pretty sure it was all on all, climbing the furniture, alliances, betrayals…

"OK STOP NOW," yelled Scorpius. "My dad is coming tonight, and I would appreciate it if my apartment wasn't completely flooded."

The other boys nodded. Albus pushed his hair back from his face, where it had been stuck to.

"Potter, what are you doing here?" demanded Rick.

"He's been here the whole time," said Joe.

"Well, I wasn't concentrating on the guest list. I had a bit too much water in face and eyes for that."

"Baby," said Al, in such a sympathetic voice that it had to be sarcastic.

"Shut it Potter. Why the fuck are you even here?"

"Because that twat wants my blessing," said Al, pointing towards Scorpius.

"Your blessing for what?" demanded Rick.

"For his relationship with my cousin, idiot."

There was a pause.

"For his _secret_ relationship with your cousin, idiot," said Scorp.

"You're dating Weasel-bug?" said Henry.

"Rose," snapped Albus, glaring.

"Mate, why didn't you tell us? That's good work, I'd tap that."

Al's glare become more like a death stare. If looks could kill, well…

"Don't talk about her like that. You will not be 'tapping' that."

"Oh-ho, whipped," laughed Rick, who seemed to have found his voice again. He clapped Scorpius on the back.

"Don't worry son, we'll fix you in no time. I'm sure your balls are around here somewhere," joked Henry, laughing.

"Shut up," said Scorpius. The boys just laughed. Scorp turned to Joe.

"You okay, mate?"

"You could've given me a heads up, mate. I owe Olivia a galleon, now."

"Well, I told her that I liked Rose and I was going to do something so that's a bit unfair of her really."

"What? I'm not paying her."

"A bet's a bet," said Al. "Speaking of, I bet that I can kick your sorry asses, so shall we get on with that?"

X

The reply had come back to Rose positive. Her parents were excited for Friday. No backing out now. Rose wondered about with Lily, searching for a new jumper – one of Lorcan's weird pets had made a nest from her old one. That would be why Lily had chosen Lysander, no weird pets included, Lily had joked. The jumper she chose was V-necked and when Lily tried it on, Rose saw the red stone that glimmered around her neck.

"Was that from Lysander?" she asked, nodding her head towards it.

"Yeah, he's such a love," said Lily, a smile tugging at her lips. "He found it one time when he was on a beach with his family. They were all hunting for something, and he was bored, so he was picking up rocks and seeing how hard he could throw them, but this one he didn't want to throw, so he slipped into his pocket. He showed me it at Hogwarts, and he said my expression when I saw was one of the things that made him realise how special I was. So he gave it to me on a string as part of my birthday present."

"That's so sweet."

"I know, what a babe," smiled Lily. "What do you think of jumper?"

"I really like it, it suits you."

"Thanks, I think I'm going to get it. And never let it out of my sight when Lorcan is near me."

Rose laughed, and left Lily to get changed. She played with the bracelet that Scorpius had bought for her in France. Still the same blue as it had been the day he bought it, Rose was glad for magic, for anti-wearing charms and for her boyfriend. As the surge of love slept over her, she smiled knowing that she and Lily were both incredibly happy.

X

It was dark when the next crack occurred.

"BOO!"

All the boys jumped.

Olivia laughed.

"Olivia, what are you doing here? I was meeting you at Gringotts at…"

"Half an hour ago, figured you might still be here. Did you get lost in the game?" Olivia looked more amused that angry, reminding Joe how lucky he was.

"Sorry sweetheart," said Joe, kissing her gently on the lips. "We can go now," he said, glancing back at the boys crowded around the mini Quidditch set that they had switched to when the virtual gaming had finished.

"You want to stay don't you?"

"Just to finish the tournament. It's me and Al in the final, and I don't want to lose to him again – pay back for France."

Olivia rolled her eyes. "Sure, go ahead."

"You are the best," said Joe, giving her a quick squeeze.

"I know," said Olivia. "Good luck, take Al down."

"Olivia! You always support me!" said Al, with a fake gasp.

"Sorry Al."

"Bros before hoes," said Al, shaking his head.

"Seeing as you are not my bro, and Joe is not a hoe, I don't think I'm violating that rule."

Al ignored her, save for a cheeky grin.

Scorp headed over to her.

"Hey, did you want a drink of anything?"

"Yeah, some water would be amazing thanks. How has today been?"

"Oh pretty good, yeah. I'm introducing Rose to my dad later."

"No way, really?" said Olivia, clapping her hands happily. "That's so great!"

"Are you always so ridiculously happy?"

"Yes, Scorpius. Do you not know me by now?"

"Sorry – I just wouldn't want to see you angry. I bet it would be fucking scary."

"Yeah, way fucking scary."

"I'll make sure Joe behaves himself."

"He wouldn't not behave himself," said Olivia, looking down and blushing.

"Why?" said Scorpius.

"I just know he wouldn't," said Olivia smiling. "He's such a great guy, and he's so lovely and…"

"He told you he loved you," finished Scorpius.

"Did he tell you?"

"No, I could tell from the way you were smiling that you loved him, and what else would give you reassurance."

"When did he tell you?"

"Two weeks ago," said Olivia.

"Have you told Rose."

"No…have you?"

"Have I told her what? I only found out today…"

"I meant that you loved her," said Olivia, as if it was obvious.

"How the fuck do you know that?"

"I didn't," said Olivia, shrugging. "I was testing you. But you haven't told her yet have you?"

"No."

"Tell her. Please, please tell her."

"Does she love me too?"

"She hasn't said so, but I would guess that she does. Oh please, tell her Scorp. Please. You guys make such a cute couple."

"Okay, maybe – you can't say anything to her though."

Olivia mimed sealing her lips, but soon her smile broke out again into a massive beam. Joe came and wrapped his arm around her waist and whispered in her ear. Scorpius caught the words, 'beautiful', 'smile' and 'victory celebration'.

Sure enough, he turned and saw a rather disgruntled looking Al, and Scorp laughed to himself feeling smug. If he wasn't going to win, at least Al hadn't.

X

"Hello Scorpius," said Draco, as his son opened the door for him, less than an hour later. It had been a crazy hour of forcing everyone out of his flat, showering, tidying, starting to cook dinner…but he had managed. Definitely being a wizard helped.

"Hi Dad," said Scorpius, giving his father a hug.

"How are you?"

"I'm good thank you. How are you?"

"I'm good," said Draco, but Scorpius could tell he was lying. Dark patches hung around his father's eyes; he was skinnier than Scorpius had ever seen him and the hair on his head and rapidly accelerating in turning whiter. It wouldn't show to someone who didn't know him, but Scorpius did know him. So he knew his dad was not okay.

"I don't look okay, I know. But I am – I have been in far worse states, I can assure you."

Scorpius didn't doubt that, having being involved in the wizarding war there was no doubt his dad had been in worse states, seen worse things. When Scorpius had been younger, a couple of nights a year he had been woken by his father's screaming. One time, he had padded into his parent's bedroom, and found his mother with her arms wrapped around Draco, rocking him, as his father sobbed. Scorpius could only imagine the horrors that had haunted those dreams.

"Have you spoken to mum?" asked Scorpius.

"No," replied Draco briskly. "How is she?"

"I think she's alright. She's in Spain."

"Yes, I was aware. How's work going?"

"It's good," said Scorpius, ignoring the rapid change in conversation. "I'm really enjoying it actually; I think I might apply for a junior editorial position when the next one comes up."

"That's great, I'm really proud of you."

There was a silence. His father glanced over to the table, noticing the third set of cutlery.

"Dad, I invited my girlfriend here, to meet you."

"Your girlfriend?"

"Yeah, I know you haven't heard much about her, but I really wanted you to meet her."

"Well, I am looking forward to it, is she the girl you told me about when you came to my office?"

"Yeah, she is actually."

"You took my advice then?"

"I still don't understand what the hell you were talking about," confessed Scorpius. There was a knock on the door. "That must be her."

Scorpius opened the door up, to reveal Rose, in her pale blue jeans, pumps and woolly coat.

"Miss Wesley," said Draco, sound surprised. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

He took her gloved hand and shook, and Rose beamed at him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr Malfoy."

"Is it?" asked Draco. "Most people don't say that to me. There's scared I'm going to set my death eater friends on them so they avoid me."

"Um…I'm sorry to hear that, Sir," said Rose, shifting uncomfortably.

"Please, call me Draco. I'm sorry if my tone grew bitter then, I sometimes slip up."

"It happens to the best of us," reassured Rose. Bitter tone or not, this man had been through a lot. Forced into a wizarding war on the losing side, trial, watching torture and death…he had every right.

"So what have you cooked for us son?"

"Chicken and vegetables, very safe – very boring."

"I'm sure it will be delicious. My son is quite the cook is he not?"

"He is," agreed Rose. "Did he get that from you?"

"Why yes, actually he did. His mother can't boil a phoenix egg," Draco laughed. Rose laughed awkwardly with him.

"So tell me about yourself Rose."

"Well, I'm an auror, um… I live with my cousin Albus, I'm not sure I'm very interesting really…"

"Rose is very interesting," called Scorpius from the kitchen. "She's just a bit nerdy."

"Says the one who keeps a garden so he can study Herbology," Rose called back.

"He's shown you his garden?" asked Draco, impressed.

"Yeah, it's amazing. Your son is a pretty talented boy."

"I know. I'm so proud of him," smiled Draco. Rose smiled back, and in the kitchen Scorpius smiled.

X

"So, pretty amazing girl you have Scorpius," said Draco, sipping his firewhiskey. Rose had nipped into the shower, because a spot of the floor still had water on, and Rose, while carrying her plate had slipped. And gravy may have landed all over her.

"I know."

"Does she know?"

"Know she's amazing. I hope so."

"Know you love her?"

"How do you know? Is it really obvious? You're the second person to say that today."

"Maybe it's time to tell her."

"No."

"Are the feelings eating you up?"

"Yes."

"Tell her. Look, I know I'm an old greying man, but when you love someone you should tell them. Especially in this circumstance because I'm fairly certain she feels the same. So without further ado, I will leave you to woo your lady friend."

"Thanks Dad," said Scorpius, laughing.

"You are welcome son. Good luck!"

X

Rose came out of the shower to find Scorpius sitting on his bed, watching the door that she'd just come from.

"That's not even a little bit creepy…" she joked.

"You're amazing," he said, walking over to her. "My dad approves."

"Really?"

"Yeah, he told me to tell you something."

"What would that be?"

Scorpius took a deep breath. "He told me to tell you I loved you."

There was a pause.

"Do you?" asked Rose.

"Yes," said Scorpius, his voice a hoarse whisper. "I love you Rose. I love your hair, and the way the ringlets spring back when back when you pull them down. I love you how you speak, how you giggle at just about everything; I love how you bite your lip when you're nervous, roll your eyes when you're frustrated. I love your smile," Scorpius stood up and placed his hands around her waist. "I love your expression now, even though it fucking scares me because I don't know what you're thinking. I love you."

He kissed her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Oh wait," giggled Rose, pulling back. "I forgot to say that I love you too. Scorpius Malfoy, I love you."

And their lips met once more. Lips are always better to kiss after they've said those three little words.

**Hey! I'm quite excited for them, not going to lie.**

**GINORMOUS thank you to nick55, booksrbetterthanmovies, daughterofhorses, jenmo4981, RosexScorpius4ever, ronandhermioneismagical, Maraudette98, LillyMay77, imtiy44z and skittlezsparkler for their reviews. They were all amazing, and it made me so happy to read them.**

**What did you guys think of Draco? I found him really hard to write because in the books he's always in really different situations and obviously by this point he's grown up…**

**Anyway, until next time…X**


	17. Chapter 16: Come What May

Rose woke up early on Sunday, when early means before Scorp. It had been a late night the night before, and a very physically exhausting one. But she awoke happy. Because last night her boyfriend had said he loved her.

He _loved _her.

And she loved him too. And now he knew. So Rose woke up with a smile tucked on to her face, with her face nestled on to Scorpius' toned chest, which moved rhythmically up and down as he breathed. And she wasn't the only one smiling; Scorpius' lips were turned up at the tips, even in the deep slumber that he was in. It was adorable.

Rose sighed happily and closer her eyes, mentally planning her week in her head. Yeah, she had OCD like that.

Monday was the Auror mission, which in all honesty Rose was pretty excited about. The office had been buzzing recently with meetings which she had not been included in and she wondered if now she would finally be let in on what the big secret was. Anyway, so that was what she was doing on Monday.

Tuesday, well not much was really happening on Tuesday. Rose made a note to invite Scorpius to come round.

Wednesday was the Puddlesmere United match, so Al and her would be watching that together.

Thursday, she and Scorpius were meeting for lunch.

Friday. Friday, was when Scorpius would meet her parents. Suddenly, there was a negative feeling in her stomach – nerves. Scorp would be fine. It was just her dad, her lovely, over-protective father who happened to know about 1000 ways to knock someone unconscious with one flick of the wand. He wouldn't use them. Of course, he wouldn't it would be fine.

"Are you talking to yourself Weasel-bug?"

Rose jumped about a mile, and Scorpius chuckled.

"Were you watching me Malfoy?"

"In fairness, I thought you were asleep."

"That makes it just so much less creepy."

"It makes it romantic."

Rose smiled to herself.

"You still haven't told me," Scorp continued. "Were you talking to yourself?"

"More like thinking out loud…" murmured Rose. Scorpius snorted, Rose sat up in the bed.

"No, get back down," moaned Scorpius grumpily. "You were keeping me warm."

"Is that all I'm good for? Keeping you warm?"

"That's not all your good for and you know it."

Rose shot him _the_ _glare_.

"I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"For not preventing your loneliness from making you go crazy and talk to yourself."

Rose hit him.

"Um, for not making you comfortable enough around me to be honest about having a conversation with yourself. 'Thinking aloud' who does that?"

Rose hit him again. Harder. Scorpius groaned.

"What are you sorry for, Malfoy?"

"I'm sorry for grabbing you and making you come back and act as my personal radiator again," smirked Scorp, waiting until Rose's eyes had just begun to widen in realisation before seizing her by the waist and tugging her backwards to her original sleeping position.

"I'm never letting you get up again," he warmed, as he wrapped his arms tighter around her waist and squeezed her closer to himself.

"Never?" Rose whispered.

"Ever," confirmed Scorpius, kissing her bare shoulder.

X

Of course, he did let her get up again. He had to. They were both hungry, and starving your girlfriend to death is generally not the best way to have a successful relationship.

Everyone knew that.

In the end, they headed down to Scorpius's garden together. They began working, Scorpius digging the some old roots from the garden, sweat glistening on his face and Rose attempted to encourage the herbs to grow, and gathered some things for Scorpius to use for whatever he so desired. It was peaceful and satisfying work, and Rose could see why Scorpius enjoyed it so. It was beautiful.

The garden was beginning to change colours. As autumn approached the lush green that had once enveloped the area had become golden yellow, tangerine orange and crisp scarlet. It was breath-taking.

"It matches your hair,' noted Scorpius after Rose had commented something to the effect. Rose shoved him.

"Hey, I never said I didn't like it. I love your hair."

Rose smiled at him, and he pulled her towards her and kissed her neck.

"I love you…have I mentioned?" he breathed, his warm breath tickling her ear and causing a warm blush to spread all over her face.

"I think that's the thirteenth time since breakfast…"

"Well, you must be pretty lovable then…"

"Yeah," agreed Rose. Scorpius raised his eyebrows at Rose, and the latter sighed. "Alright, Scorp, I love you too."

The garden didn't get much attention after that.

X

The cold wind whistled in Rose's ears, its breath not nearly as warm as her boyfriend's, as they stepped out that evening. The Three-Legged-Newt was offering half price steaks, and that was not the sort of thing people turned down. So that was where she and Scorp were not walking. The breath fogged over the cold September air. The pub itself contained many older couples and a twinge of sadness. Perhaps, these couples had just sent their children to school for the first time and were already experiencing leaving the nest syndrome.

Rose wondered how her parents coped.

"Malfoy, my mate. How are you?" called Cooper.

Scorpius frowned. They were not mates. He hadn't seen Cooper since the latter had gate-crashed his party.

"I'm alright," he said curtly. "How are you?"

"I'm bloody good. Will you and your bird be joining us?"

"You mean you?"

"Yeah, what did I say?" he slurred.

"You said 'us'. That implies plural and it's just you."

"Oh yeah, how funny." Cooper laughed, though it was funny at all. "You and your bird will just have to join me then."

"I don't think so, we're planning to be boring and you look like you could have more fun without us."

"Whipped are we? Scorpius Malfoy…whipped," chuckled Cooper.

"Old news _mate_," said Scorpius patting his back and leading Rose away. "Old news."

Rose giggled and slipped her arms around Scorpius' waist as he directed her towards a table in the corner, by the window.

"Sorry about him," said Scorpius, playing with Rose's fingers once they had sat down. "He never really picked up social skills."

"That's alright," replied Rose, squeezing her boyfriend's fingers in return. "I don't mind. And I'm glad you're whipped."

"Oh whatever," said Scorpius, rolling his eyes, but his tone was far from dismissive. "I think we should order some champagne."

"Scorp, we're in the Three-Legged Newt, this is hardly the time to have champagne."

"Why not?"

"Well, why would we be having some anyway?"

"To celebrate…oh, come on, Rose. We should celebrate you getting your first official Auror job, I'd have taken you to a club, but I know you're not keen."

"There's so many other things to celebrate, Scorp," said Rose.

"Like what?"

Rose gave his fingers a squeeze and sent him a meaningful look. He smiled to himself.

"Still, that all aside. Aren't you excited?"

"Of course, I am. I don't really know what to expect though."

"Well, I can't help you on that front, but I hope it's exciting. How about I come round tomorrow and you can tell me all about it?"

"Alright, but don't get your hopes up, it's probably really boring. Will you come for dinner?"

"No, I promised my mum a while back that I'd meet her for dinner, so I'll come around afterwards at about eleven o'clock…if that's not too far past your bedtime."

"Oh hush now," said Rose, rolling her eyes. "Come on, let's order. I'm hungry – let's order."

"Alright."

"Good submissive boyfriend," said Rose with a wink.

X

Rose arrived bright and early on Monday, because no matter what she told Scorpius, to her this was a very big deal. This was moving up in the world. Olivia grinned at her as she passed and shot her a thumbs up. She headed into Mr Brazier's office.

You know how sometimes you look at people and wonder if their previous life they were an animal? Not really? Well, if you did Mr Brazier was like that. In his past life, there is no doubt that he would have been an owl. He had the big wide eyes that owls have, and white fluffy hair covering his head and he was experienced as they come.

"Morning Rose," cooed Mr Brazier.

"Morning," said Rose, shuffling about and fiddling with her hands. All of a sudden she was incredibly, stomach tying itself into knots, nervous.

"You're early. But that's fine. I'm going to have to wait for the rest of the team before we leave, but I'll give you a briefing. Last week, we received a disturbing level of curses coming from a particular area. As it's the holidays, we made an agreement to keep an eye on it, probably just some boys being overly rowdy, and simply sent Oliver Johnson over. You know the lad? Tall, blonde. Anyway, he left on Thursday afternoon, and by Friday we still hadn't heard from him. So I was thinking to myself where can this boy be? And then he turns up at about three, and he can't remember anything. I mean, it's a wonder the boys got here in the first place. So then I sent him to St Mungoe's and was preparing to leave for this place, when they told me his memory was coming back, and should be there by the end of the weekend. So, by first thing Monday I would have all the details of what he had seen and know exactly what I was preparing myself for."

"And do you?"

"It was grim," came a voice from the door. Oliver Johnson walked in; his face gaunter than Rose had even seen it. "I'd been expecting lights, music, and alcohol…basically a party. But there was nothing. Literally. You could see dust gathering in the corners of the room and when I called out, the emptiness called back in echo. That was my first mistake, calling out, and I heard a scuffle, and then a woman appeared glaring at me. And she hexed me, and it went black for a time. And when I woke up, someone was standing over me. They tried to wipe my memory, and forced me to 'go back to where I came from'."

"The Imperius?" asked Rose, a shiver running through her spine.

"No," he replied, shaking his head. "I don't know what it was. But it can't have been the Imperious; the person who hexed me, who wasn't the woman from earlier – they couldn't even do an effective memory spell, so they wouldn't have been strong enough."

"So there's two of them?"

"At least two," confirmed Brazier.

"So when do we leave?" asked Rose, feeling utterly and completely terrified but somehow acting as though she were completely calm.

"In about five minutes," said Brazier, his mouth set in a firm line. Rose nodded. The five minutes were tense, silent and hard. But when everyone put their hands on the portkey, the shiver of adrenaline ran up her spine. A moment later, the clean office had gone and Rose found herself in a cold, dark and empty room. Their arrival had caused dust to fly absolutely everywhere, and Brazier was quick enough to cast _Muffliato_ to stop them from being overheard.

They split into groups of two or three, and Rose and another Auror – Mason crept up the creaking stairs, into the darkness above, wands providing the only light. Mason pushed open one dusty door carefully, and stepped back with a gasp.

X

"So Scorpius, how is everything?" asked Astoria Malfoy, pouring some wine into her glass.

"I'm fine, isn't it a bit early for you to be drinking?"

"Don't be silly now, son. You sound just like your father."

"Well, he probably had a point," muttered Scorpius, but his mother was swirling the red liquid round and didn't seem to notice. "So how are things for you?"

"They're alright. I'm living in London now, enjoying life. It's lovely to be a city after all those years at the manor."

"Don't make it sound like dad locked you in there."

"Scorpius, you are in a feisty mood this morning," said his mother, as though Scorpius were only two.

"I just…never mind."

"That's right – never mind. How is your life going? Have you got a special girl?"

Scorpius grey eyes must have softened slightly or a smile could have played on his lips. It was change so small that he didn't notice it himself, but a mother has eyes as keen as a hawk when it comes to her children.

"There is," cooed Astoria, sitting back. "Tell me about her."

"Her name is Rose, Rose Weasley." He ignored his mother's ill-hidden surprise. "We've been dating for a couple of months now."

"Do you love her?"

"Yes," said Scorpius, looking his mother in the eye. She beamed in response, and Scorpius felt a warmth spread over him.

"That's excellent, have you told her?"

"Saturday."

"Ah, so you're riding high right now, how amazing! What is she doing now? I would love to meet her."

"She's on her first Auror mission," Scorpius said proudly.

"Oh, nothing to dangerous I hope."

X

"What do you think happened?" asked Rose as she advanced. Mason just shook his head. Suddenly there was a shout from downstairs, and panic set in.

"Get her and go, Rose," ordered Mason, fear written in his face.

"But what about you? And everything else?"

"This could be the biggest clue to what's going on. Go!"

And Rose grabbed the girl and apparated back to the office. Silence greeted her, and all Rose wanted was to go back and to try and help everyone, but she knew she had to stay. She crouched down next to the girl, who was curled up on the floor. She pushed the dirty hair that Rose imagined had once been a sort of honey colour, off the girl's face. There were scrapes all over her, and picking up her arms, she could see stretches of scars, that hadn't been treated. Some were infected and were oozing puss. Rose set about healing the marks, treating the worst of them with Phoenix tears, which she summoned. Eventually the girl looked better, but she was still unconscious.

"Hey," said Rose softly. "Hey, it's alright, wake up now."

The girl did nothing, but at least she was breathing. The only thing really to do was to wait for her to wake up, St Mungoe's didn't deal with unconscious people really, there were always far more severe things to be dealt with like werewolf bites and nasty curses.

Rose sat back down, accepting nothing else could be done but make sure the girl continued to breathe. She let her mind wander to Scorpius and their upcoming meeting with her parents. She wished it would go well and crossed everything in her body – old traditions never die. Then she thought about Scorpius himself, about his tender caresses, his husky voice and his warm body being so close against hers…

The girl suddenly gasped, and sat up spluttering. Her brown eyes took in Rose in a frenzied panic and she started desperately shuffling away.

"Hey, it's alright," said Rose, moving towards her a bit, the girl's eyes widened in terror. "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you." The girl looked far from reassured, so Rose sat back and held her hands up. "I promise. My name is Rose Weasley. Who are you?"

The girl stared for a few minutes. "I think my name is May," she said slowly.

"That's a pretty name," said Rose, encouragingly, whilst analysing the word 'think' in the back of her mind. What had happened?

The girl – May – nodded.

"Are you hungry?" asked Rose.

May shook her head.

"Thirsty?"

May shook her head.

"Tired?"

"Where am I?"

"You're at the Auror's headquarter of the Ministry of Magic."

"Oh," said May, sounding slightly confused.

"Where do you live?"

"I…I live in…I…I don't remember," said May, looking like she might cry.

"Well, don't worry," Rose said, using her most reassuring voice. "I'm sure we'll be able to work it out. And then we can get you home."

"Rose," said Brazier, appearing suddenly in the office. May jumped with terror.

"Sir," said Rose.

"I see you got the girl safely here. Has she told you anything?"

"Her name is May, Sir."

"Right. May, what has been happening?"

May remained silent.

"Tell him, May," coaxed Rose. "We're here to help you."

"May?"

"I…I don't know," replied May, beginning to sob. "I don't remember anything, but I know it was horrible."

"Do you know who did it?" asked Brazier.

"No," she stammered.

"Do you think they might come looking for you?" he asked, a sense of urgency creeping into his tone. May shuddered.

"Rose, I have a mission for you," declared Brazier turning to her.

X

"Ew, if I knew it would have been you, I wouldn't have opened the door," said Albus, as he let Scorp into the apartment.

"If I had known it would be you here, I wouldn't have come," replied Scorpius.

"Touche Malfoy," said Albus.

"When will Rose be home?"

"Soon, I don't really know," said Al with a shrug. "Are you worried about her?"

"Yes, aren't you?"

"No, I have total faith in my cousin's abilities. Besides, they're hardly going to send her on something dangerous – it's only her first mission."

"Yeah, I guess," sighed Scorp.

"I have the photos from Friday – if you need a distraction."

"Oh yeah, let's have a look."

Albus went over to the counter and started to bring them over to Scorp, who settled himself down on the sofa.

"You're in my seat," said Al, pointedly.

"Well, it is your apartment so everywhere is your seat," pointed out Scorp.

"Move over," said Al.

"Potter, you can't be that much of a baby."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did you want to remain in my apartment?"

"Fine," said Scorpius. Albus was like a toddler – half the time you just had to do what they said. Lest they might scream and throw a tantrum.

Albus chuckled to himself as he settled down in _his _seat. He passed the photos to Scorpius. The first was a picture of Rose opening the door, and Scorpius standing there, grinning. It just about managed to capture the shock on his face.

"I didn't know you took this," Scorp pointed out. Albus just nodded.

The next were the ones that had been taken after Al had asked permission. There were a few smiling ones where their smiles got bigger and brighter and their eyes flicked to one another every so often. Then there were three more of Rose being tickled and laughing, her squirming away from him, with a huge grin on her face.

"She's so beautiful," commented Scorp.

"Well, she does share some of my genetics," pointed out Al.

Scorp ignored that last comment. "Can I keep this one?"

"Sure…now, do you want to play a round of table –"

But Al was cut off by the sudden entry of Rose, holding what looked to be a girl. Scorpius rushed forward and took the girl from her arms and placed her on the sofa.

"What happened?" asked Albus, his green eyes wide.

"I don't know," replied Rose, as Scorpius wrapped a comforting arm around her waist. "But May is staying here until I do."

**Sorry for such a delay – I feel really bad – I'll try not to let the time between go above two weeks again.**

**Massive thank yous to: nick55, RosexScorpius4ever, Blue21, ****jenmo4981****, ****imtiy44z****, ****LillyMay77****, ****ronandhermioneismagical****, ****booksrbetterthanmovies****, ****Parvati48**** and ****SilenceIsCompliance**** for their reviews. I'm so glad you guys are enjoying it!**


	18. Chapter 17: Puzzles and Parents

Silently cursing, only to feel bad about it, Albus wandered into the kitchen in the hope of getting a hot drink.This was the fourth night and since Monday night, Albus just seemed to get more and more sleep deprived, as the night terrors that gripped May never went away. Of course, Albus felt sorry for her, and of course he realised how selfish it was to moan of lack of sleep while she tossed, turned and screamed. But…still. It wasn't the best solution.

"Albus?" said Rose, sounding about half dead. She and Scorpius had transfigured the kitchen table into a bed so May could sleep in Rose's room. "Do you think…do you think you could go wake her up?"

Um, no.

But looking at the bags around his cousin's eyes, Albus agreed.

Because at heart, he was a softy.

Tell anyone and you die.

Rose managed a small smile and flopped back into Malfoy's arms. For some reason (okay, for Rose), Scorpius had decided to stay here every night – despite the fact he had his own perfectly nice, perfectly quiet apartment. Stupid man. He tiptoed into the room, and saw May, blonde hair everywhere as she shook, trembled, thrashed and winced. He clambered onto the bed and put a hand on her shoulder to give her a gentle shake.

She hit him. Hard.

This time he cursed aloud. Then he drew in his breath and tried again, beginning to chatter to her as he did so.

She still stayed asleep.

Albus sat back, thinking. When he was younger he had shone light in James' eyes or poured water on his brother's head to get James's up, but those hardly seemed appropriate here. What else had he done? To be honest, most of the stuff he'd done to James, or James had done to him, had required sleep and those that required waking up were far too cruel.

So he just shook her again, this time he sung to her as well. Rose would be having a great time. Albus' voice was about one hundred times worse than the screams that every so often accompanied it. Eventually, Albus decided that this wasn't working, so he grabbed her in a hug and held her still.

She screamed again, but awkwardly, this time her eyes were open.

"Who are you, what are you doing?" she gasped, her face pale.

"It's alright, it's alright. You were just having a bad dream. A really, really, really bad dream," he said, letting her lie back down in the bed.

"Right…right, sorry for yelling. Where's Rose?" asked May, shivering.

"She's sleeping still. I'm Albus," he said.

"I know, I've been living with you for a few days," she whispered.

"That sounded almost sarcastic," Albus whispered back. May smiled a little, and then shuddered again.

"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Albus.

"I'd rather not."

"My mum always told me when I was little that if you told someone about your dreams, they didn't come back. I stopped this horrendous recurring dream about a hippogriff that way."

"A hippogriff?" whisper-asked May, sounding confused.

"Kept dreaming it was trying to eat me," Albus told her. She nodded, but the confusion hadn't left her face.

"Are you going to be okay?" he asked.

"Yes," said May, though she didn't sound positive.

"I'll stay with you for a bit then," replied Albus. "Until you can convince me properly."

X

"You're looking lovely," Scorpius informed Rose, as she emerged from the bathroom. Rose snorted.

"Considering that there is a mirror in that bathroom, and I know how I look, you must be one of two things: a liar or someone so sleep deprived that they can't seeing anything straight or clearly anymore. Take your pick," replied Rose.

"Maybe I'm the third option."

"Which is?"

"A man in love," he said, kissing her, placing his hands on her waist and pulling her towards him. She wrapped her hands around his neck and deepened the kiss.

"This is gross," Albus noted, as he walked into the kitchen. They broke apart, Rose with a giggle and blush and Scorpius with a slightly, well not really that slightly, frustrated look.

"Have you been in May's bedroom all night?"

"If by all night, you mean that proportion of the night that ranges from 5:30 to now, which is 7:12, then yes, I have been in there all night. However, under the traditional meaning of all night…"

"Oh Albus, shut up. Why were you in there?"

"Because it looked like she didn't want to be alone. I'm not a completely terrible person, you know."

"Did she say anything about what might have gone on?"

"Nope. Although, I do have a theory about it. Well, not really about what happened because I'm still totally lost on that, it's more really about her."

"What is it?

"You can't find her on the archives in the Ministry, can you?"

"I haven't finished looking through yet, but so far no. Why?"

"I think she's a muggle."

X

With Scorpius and Albus both at work, Rose had time to reflect over what had been said. Scorpius said it made sense; May had shown no sign of recognition at any of them, something highly unusual had she come from magical background. Rose had pointed out that surely she would have reacted to one of them when they did magic, but Albus had argued that she never really saw. She spent most of her time in Rose's bedroom, and every time someone came near her, they weren't showing off their wand-work.

"May," said Rose calmly. "Please could you do me a favour?"

"Okay," agreed May slowly.

"I need you to wave this," Rose told her, holding out her wand. May eyed it carefully and doubtfully. "Don't ask, just do it."

Cautiously May picked up the stick, and waved it. Nothing happened.

"Give it a little flick," said Rose, demonstrating with her empty risk. May flicked it. Again, nothing happened.

"Thanks, May. Do you think you could tell me what happens in your night terrors?"

May froze and shook her head.

"Please, I'm only here to help."

"Pain," whispered May, shuddering at the memory.

"Alright, I'll get you something to eat," said Rose with a sigh, recognizing that May had clammed up again, and no more information was going to be gotten out of her. She made May some toast and left her to eat it.

Lighting the fire with a whish of her wand, Rose crouched down near it.

"Rose?" said Brazier's voice, as his head appeared in the fire.

"Sir, I think we may have some new evidence. I have good reason to believe that May is a muggle."

Brazier looked surprised .

"Alright, that changes everything," he said eventually. "Anything else?"

"I think she might have been subjected to the cruciatus curse," Rose said, explaining about May's night terrors and how she had described them.

"Impossible," said Brazier, his burning head shaking in the fire.

"We have monitors showing all unforgivable curses that are used, and we didn't pick up on anything in that area. And I can assure you, we have quadruple checked that."

"Alright," said Rose, sounding defeated.

"Don't worry, Rose. We'll sort all this out. If it gets more serious, we can always bring it to more senior aurors, like your father."

"Yes, sir. I'll report back if I find anymore out."

"Thank you, Rose. Meanwhile, we're going to be changing the nature of this investigation. Good luck Rose."

"Thank you, Sir," said Rose. She turned around, and saw May staring at her in shock and fear.

"May, maybe we should have a chat," said Rose. Gesturing for the girl to sit on the sofa. "You see, some people in this world are born with the ability to do magic, and some aren't."

"I know this," whispered May. "They told me."

"The people we saved you from?"

May nodded.

"What did they tell you exactly?"

"They told," said May, clearing trying to muster as much strength as possible. "They told me that some people are born and they are naturally able to do magic. Some, like me, weren't able to do it naturally. Then they told me that for those people it had to…had to…had to be induced," she said, breaking into sobs at the end.

"And they tried to induce yours?"

May nodded.

"How?"

May shook her head.

"Alright, we can do something else. Do you want to...I don't know…read the paper?"

"They were trying…trying to work it out." May managed. "Knowledge leads to power, power leads to perfection."

Rose felt the shivers run up her spine, along with the eerie feeling she had heard those words before.

X

Scorpius arrived back at Rose's after nipping to his own apartment to gather various shirts, a pair of jeans, a pair of chinos and a pair of standard black trousers.

"Where's May?" he asked, as apparated in, arms laden with fabric.

"She's sleeping…Um, are we having a clothes sale?" asked Rose.

"No, I just wasn't sure what to wear tonight, and thought that you might be able to help me choose. After all, you clearly have excellent taste in men, so why can't your taste in clothes be impeccable too?"

"You know, I'd completely forgotten about tonight, what are we going to do about May?" asked Rose, ignoring Scorpius' wit.

"Albus can look after her tonight, can't he?"

"Yes, probably."

"Albus is an idiot, I agree," said Scorpius. "But he is capable of looking after someone. It may in fact help him. Responsibility could force him to grow up."

"Wishful thinking," commented Rose, kissing him lightly. "Are you going to do a fashion show for us girls, so we can decide?"

"No. Most definitely not. Just choose something."

"Damn," murmered Rose, pulling him towards her by the shirt. "That would have been sexy."

"I'm pretty sure," said Scorpius tilting his head towards her. "That that is bribery."

"Maybe," replied Rose, before giving the final tug required for their lips to connect with each other's once again. The consuming taste of one another engulfing them, as their bodies pressed closer and closer together, by natural response.

"I think," said Rose, slightly breathless when they broke apart. "You should wear that blue shirt and the chinos."

"Alright," said Scorpius, kissing her again. "Do you want to come and help me change?"

"I can definitely help you take these off," said Rose, tugging at what he was wearing now. "But putting clothes on might be a bit more of a challenge."

"I'm sure you can manage it," said Scorpius with a wink, leading her into her bedroom.

X

"Albus, are you going to be okay? There is some lasagne in the fridge, which I have shown you how to heat up about a thousand times. We're going to back about 11, and of course you'll know where we'll be if you need us. Remember to look after May, alright? Okay, thanks Al," babbled Rose, kissing Al on the cheek.

"See you, Potter," said Scorpius, before taking Rose's hand and dragging her out before she could give Al anymore unnecessary instructions.

"I hope they'll be alright."

"They will, don't worry."

"I hope you'll be alright."

"Filling me with confidence here, Rose."

"I'm kidding. They'll love you. My dad just might take a while to embrace those positive feelings but it's not anything that you need to worry about."

"What about your brother?"

"Oh, Hugo will be fine. And if he isn't, well I know how to handle him. You live with someone for 18 years, you grow a pretty large blackmail collection…you don't need to worry about Hugo at all," Rose reassured him, giving his hand a squeeze.

"He won't remember our school days?"

"He could do," Rose admitted. "But he trusts me to know what's best for me, and he'd expect me to do him the same courtesy. Just relax, it will be fine."

They apparated as they left the building, and before long were in front of a small house. It was hard to see the house in full, as by this time of night at that time of year, it was dark, but through the light shining out from the window, Scorpius could make out a perfectly, almost-unnaturally neat garden and a cobbled path.

"This is it," said Rose, gripping Scorpius arm, and leading him up the path.

"Are you holding on so tightly because you don't want to slip on the ice, or because you're nervous?"

"Probably a bit of both," replied Rose honestly, ringing the bell.

There were a few agonising seconds.

"Remember, however this goes, I still love you," said Rose quickly, pecking Scorpius on the cheek.

Then the door opened.

"Rose, how are you?" asked Hermione, wrapping her daughter in a hug. "Come in, come in. Get out of the dark and cold." Scorpius and Rose obliged gratefully stepping in the warm hall. Hermione shut the door behind them. "And you must be Rose's boyfriend…" said Hermione, managing (just about) to hide her surprise.

"Scorpius Malfoy," said Scorp. "I can see where Rose gets her good looks from."

Hermione blushed slightly and beamed, but Ron's voice called out from the kitchen.

"Is the boy flirting with my wife?"

"Ron, stop being a baby. Come out here and meet him," Hermione went through to get him, and whispered the identity of _the boy._ Ron's ears started turning red and his face was already in a frown when he entered the hall, and saw Scorpius with his hand tucked around his daughter's waist. He glared. The hand was removed.

"Pleased to meet you, Sir," said Scorpius, stepping forward, and offering a handshake.

"Do I look like a mite to you?"

"Ronald," chastised Hermione. "And, I think you mean a _knight _dear."

"That's what I said," Ron told her, Rose giggled.

"You look like your father," said Hermione.

"I have so many pleasant memories of being at school with him," said Ron. Hermione shot him the glare. Again.

There was an awkward silence; although awkward may have been a slight understatement.

"Hey everyone," said Hugo, breaking the ice. He walked in in his hoodie and jeans, and scooping ice cream from the tub. Rose called his name and ran to give him a hug. Hugo wrapped his arms around her, and still managed to scoop out more ice cream, despite no longer being able to see the tub. Scorpius chuckled.

"Hugo, you won't eat your supper," said Hermione.

"Don't worry, mum," said Hugo, pulling back from Rose. "I'm still hungry." He turned to their blonde guest. "Hello, how are you doing? Hugo."

"Scorpius. Alright thanks, how are you? Rose said you'd been to Norway these for a couple of months, how was it?"

"It was really great, thanks," said Hugo enthusiastically.

"You've got him started on something that he won't stop talking about, will you baby?" said Hermione, touching her son's arm affectionately.

"Muuuum," moaned Hugo, clearly embarrassed. His ears had turned red.

"Shall, we go and have dinner?"

"That would be lovely," said Rose. She followed her mother and Hugo through to the kitchen, where the circular table had been laid perfectly. Back in the hall, Scorpius stood by the door to allow Ron to go through first. His only thank you was a stony glare.

Again, awkward.

"Mr Weasley," began Scorpius, as they sat down at the table.

"Call him Ron," chipped in Hermione, brightly.

"Ron," began Scorpius, although one look from Ron showed that first name terms were not on the cards. "I hear you're an Auror."

"Yes," said Ron.

"Do you enjoy it?"

"Yes," said Ron.

"Um…" began Scorpius, searching for a question that couldn't be answered with 'yes' or 'no'.

"Pass the carrots, please Hermione," interrupted Ron.

Rose shot Scorpius a comforting look and mouthed three little words. Scorpius gave a small smile.

"So, tell me about Norway?" said Rose.

"It was amazing, Rose. I saw so many different creatures that I never thought I'd see. Like in the proper wild, not just in the forbidden forest. Just to explain, Scorpius, we were examining a herd of unicorns and their behaviour. They're becoming so rare at the moment, conservation is really important. They're such beautiful creatures."

"Did you seen any baby unicorns?"

"Babies on the brain, Rose?" Ron's expression darkened despite Hugo's teasing tone and Scorpius' look of shock. "Yeah, I did. I saw the birthing of twins. Did you know they're born gold?"

"No," said Scorpius and Ron, while Hermione and Rose answered "Yes."

Hugo laughed.

"Anyway, it was really incredible, and I could talk for hours and hours about it, but I feel that mum would rather I was more of a host and asked you guys questions. So, Scorpius, what do you do?"

"I work for the Daily Prophet."

"Oh? What do write about?" asked Hermione.

"Anything really. Whatever goes on in the week, but I prefer writing about new advances in magic because I like to think that when someone reads them, there reading about something they'd never heard of before."

"That's cool," said Hugo. "Um, Rose. This is a bit awkward – but you do realise that's my leg, right?"

Rose turned crimson. Scorpius grimaced. Hermione laughed awkward. Hugo laughed whole-heartedly. Ron scowled.

"So…" said Rose, awkwardly.

"You have to actually change the subject, or it makes it more awkward," noted Hugo.

"This food is delicious, Mrs Weasley."

"Hermione."

"Why do you think it was Hermione? Bit judgemental isn't it?"

Hermione sighed.

"Oh sorry," said Scorpius, blushing. "Mr Weasley, this is delicious."

"Well, I didn't make it. My wife did."

"Oh, Ron. Don't be so horrible," said Hermione.

"It's a question of equality," defended Ron, gruffly. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"So are you going to come to the weekend at the Burrow?" Hermione asked Scorpius. Ron glowered at him.

"I think so," replied Scorpius, nervously. "I think that's the plan, right Rose?"

"Yeah, that is the plan. We're looking forward to it, and I know that Al is excited to play you at real Quidditch as opposed to Table Quidditch."

"So I can beat him at that too," laughed Scorpius, sounding a little more at ease. Somebody wanted him there (other than Rose). Besides, he'd won over Al; he could win over these guys too.

"I thought he was winning," questioned Rose.

"He is, but I swear he cheats."

"I've thought that many a time about Albus," agreed Hugo. "Maybe we should play? After dinner?"

"Yeah," said Scorpius happily. Hermione beamed at Hugo with pride and with a whizz of her wand began to stack the plates and levitate them towards the sink, while Hugo summoned the Table Quidditch game. He and Scorpius quickly began their game, boyish banter and competitiveness taking over and easing the tension from the room. Rose scooted her chair closer to Ron's.

"What do you think Dad?"

"Well, I don't think he's good enough for you," Ron said, gruffly.

"Do you think anyone is?"

"No." Rose giggled and leaned on her father's shoulder.

"He's a good guy, just a get to know him."

Ron snorted, but stroked his precious daughter's hair. Scorpius looked up from the game and smiled, though suddenly his face turned to one of shock. A silver bear had come dashing through the living room, and had stopped straight in front of Rose.

"That's Al's," said Ron, before everyone hushed him.

The Panda spoke.

"_Attack on the apartment, May and I are in a hotel in Bristol. Come Soon. Albus"_

And with that the panda disappeared into whispers of smoke, in the once calm kitchen.

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter: RosexScorpius4ever, Maraudette98, rosescorpius4eva (yes, that was – my latest addiction), LillyMay77, hhapb95, imzdapro and krc101. I'm glad you guys liked it, I was quite nervous about changing the dynamic. And I'm afraid for all those who guessed, I'm not going to reveal anything!**

**Merry Christmas (or Happy Holidays) everyone!**


	19. Chapter 18: Crushes and Conclusions

"We have to go," said Rose, jumping up. Scorpius copied her.

"Are you going to be okay?" asked Hermione. "We can come with you?"

"No, it's fine," replied Rose, grabbing Scorpius and apparating. The rest of the Weasleys stared at the space that their daughter and her boyfriend had been standing in just a moment before. Hugo let a low whistle.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" asked Hermione.

"She'll be fine, she has so much of you in her," he replied, kissing his wife tenderly.

X

"Rose! Thank Merlin you're here," cried Albus, whose face had become battered and bruised.

"How did you know to come here?" asked Scorpius. "I mean how many hotels are there in Bristol?"

"A lot, but Albus and I always come to this one. There isn't time for small talk, Albus what happened?"

"We were just cooking dinner, and we heard a knock on the door. So I opened it. I'm so stupid…but how would I know…Anyway, they were looking for you, but when they saw May…well they came in after her. One of them lunged for May, and I pulled him back and punched him. There was a good crack, wasn't there?"

May, pale and huddled in an overlarge jumper nodded.

"Anyway, they were keeping me quite occupied, but one of them threw a punch, that temporarily got the best of me. So then the one who punched me lunged for me, and the other went round to grab May. So I dodged the first one, and stamped on him when he hit the ground and then, I pulled out my wand and stunned the other one, grabbed May and we apparated here. She didn't like side-along much, I suppose she was half unconscious when you did it with her."

"Do you know who they were?"

"No, but I know one of them was French. He said 'He waz going to knock the shit out of me'."

"That was a poor accent," Scorpius noted.

"Have you contacted the Aurors?"

"Not yet, we were waiting for you."

"Okay. They were definitely there for May, right?"

"Yes."

"May, did you recognise any of them?"

May nodded. "The French one, I knew him. He…there's probably something you should know…" she said, and she began to life her top up.

"Woah, not that kind of moment," said Albus, receiving a glare from the others. May lifted her top far enough for her ribs to be in view. On her right rib there was a dark, red mark. Rose moved forward to get a closer look. It was clearly meant to be some kind of logo, but around it the skin was swollen, red and infected.

"How did they do this to you?" asked Rose, hesitant to touch it. "With magic?"

"Partly," said May. "Have you ever seen a horse branded?"

Rose gasped in horror.

"Wait, what do they do?" asked Scorpius.

"They use red hot metal that's been cut in a shape. They put it in a fire and then press it against the skin."

"Merlin."

"You said they partly used magic?" asked Albus, watching May with fear and compassion in his eyes.

"To lengthen and strengthen the pain."

"Merlin," said Albus, going over and giving her a hug. "Would you mind if I…"

He pulled out his wand, May shuddered a little but nodded. Albus began cleaning the wound with gentle brush strokes.

"I have to go, I need to go back to the apartment," said Rose, shaking her head, her face pale.

"No, Rose. You can't go," said Scorpius, grabbing her wrist. Albus noticed this as the sort of scene that he did not want to watch and so lead May into the bathroom, giving Scorpius and Rose some privacy.

"I have to go, Scorp," said Rose.

"NO! You've just seen what these people are capable of, you can't go face those people."

"I can look after myself."

"I know you can, I wasn't suggesting otherwise. I just…"

"I'll be okay," said Rose.

"Let me come with you," said Scorpius grabbing her arm and pulling her towards him.

"Scorpius, I can look after myself."

"I know you can, I know you don't need me, but the idea of something like that happening to you. The idea that I wasn't there to even try to stop it. I can't, Rose. Please stay with me, stay and be safe."

"I have to go," said Rose, placing her hands on his face. "I can't let this happen to anyone else. And you need to stay here. I love you, and I promise I will not let anything happen to me. I love you, but I need you to understand this."

"I love you too," said Scorpius, swallowing. "I just want you to be safe."

"I promise I'll be back soon," replied Rose. And Scorpius pulled her towards him so there was no room at all between their bodies and kissed her. The type of kiss that a girl lies awake fantasising about. The type of kiss where there you could see fireworks, but you were too consumed in the other person to properly notice or properly care. The type of kiss that only happens with the person you love most in the world.

When it broke, the world went back into focus, and Rose had no choice but to apparated. Scorpius stood watching her for a moment, before walking in to the bathroom to join Albus.

"She'll be fine you know," said Albus, looking up on his entrance. "She's good."

"I know she's good, but I just…" Scorpius' voice broke and trailed away.

"I know," said Albus. "I know."

X

The Aurors were there within seconds of Rose's message. The apartment had been taped off on the inside. The table had been lying on its side and there was a broken chair in the corner. Apparently the story Albus had told had left out a few minor details.

"What happened here?" asked Brazier. Rose recounted Albus' story, and the discovery of the mark branded on May's skin.

"And your cousin is trying to puzzle that out?"

"Yes," confirmed Rose. Brazier hooted in approval.

"ROSE!"

Suddenly, Rose was wrapped up in Olivia's embrace, so tight that she could barely breathe.

"I'm so glad, you're okay. I have been so worried about you. Is Al alright?"

"Yes, he's fine."

"I've been added to this case as well. We need more people."

"Okay."

"I've only just joined though; can you fill me in on everything that has happened so far?"

Rose complied, explaining everything.

"Knowledge leads to power, power leads to perfection," repeated Olivia, slowly. "I recognise that from somewhere."

"So do I, but I can't put my finger on where from…"

Olivia muttered the phrase again, under her breath. "I'll have a think about it."

"Rose," said Al's voice. He was suddenly standing behind her. "This is a drawing I did of the mark on May's skin. Even Malfoy said my drawing was good, so I guess this is as accurate as you're going to get."

"Can you not bring May here?"

Something flashed in Al's eyes for the briefest of moments. "I don't think she's up for it, Rose. She's going in and out of consciousness a bit, I think something went slightly wrong when I was cleaning the wound…I should be getting back."

"Thanks Al," said Rose, kissing him on the cheek before watching him disappear. Olivia scooted next to her and looked at the drawing, then gasping in shock.

"I KNOW THIS MARK. IT'S A POLITICAL PARTY IN FRANCE –AND 'KNOWLEDGE LEADS TO POWER, POWER TO PERFECTION IS THEIR MOTTO."

"I remember that," gasped Rose. "But what are they doing here?"

"I don't know, but we need to tell Brazier."

X

"We need to do some research into this party," said Brazier, running a hand through his hair. "I don't know if we can spare anyone else tonight. Rose, we need you here. We need to know everything you know about this apartment. Olivia, could you do it?"

"I can, and I will," said Olivia, her mouth pressing in a determined line.

"Excellent," nodded the boss. "Now Rose, if you could explain the layout of this sitting room normally. Oh and perhaps, Olivia? Could you collect a memory from Rose's cousin, I feel we may need it."

"Yes, sir."

"Okay, Rose. Tell me everything about this apartment that is different. And is there anybody who knew of your involvement with this mission?"

"Al, Olivia, my boyfriend – but it couldn't have been him. He was with me the whole time. He couldn't have been involved."

"Could he have told anyone?"

"I don't think so," said Rose. "Besides, he wouldn't do that."

"Love can make us blind, Rose. Don't forget that."

"Sir, it wouldn't be him."

Brazier did not acknowledge Rose's statement, instead began to examine the apartment in more detail, and asking questions about every square inch.

X

There was pop.

"Olivia?" said Scorpius in surprise, as he poked his head around the door. May was lying in the bedroom, feverish; Al desperately mopping at her head with a damp cloth.

"Scorp? Hey. I need the memory of the night from Al," said Olivia, frantically.

"Is Rose okay?"

"Yeah, of course she is."

"Have you figured anything out yet?"

"We're getting there. I really need this memory."

"Okay, he's in here."

"Albus," called Olivia. Al looked up at her with half crazed eyes. "I need your memory of the night."

"Sure, just take it," said Albus, not hesitating to pull out his wand, draw the long, shining and shimmering thread from his mind. Scorpius hurriedly summoned a container to put it in, and Olivia just managed to catch it before Albus turned back to his patient.

"He'd make a good healer," Olivia commented; momentarily calm having achieved the first part of the mission. "He cares so much."

"I'm not sure that's universal to everyone," noted Scorpius wryly.

X

"Olivia, thank you," said Rose, taking the flask and checking its contents. The shimmery liquid was present and correct. "It's been a nightmare here. I don't know whether my furniture has moved a centimetre to the right or not. I just don't remember things like that and it's midnight and I'm tired."

"Good luck, you're doing fine," replied her friend, giving Rose a brief hug before apparating off to do some research. Rose turned the flask over in her hands.

"Sir, I have it," she called out.

"Perfect," said Brazier. He pulled out a tiny bowl and began to expand it. "Portable Pensieve," he told Rose with a smile. "Best 12 galleons I have ever spent."

Rose smiled in acknowledgement, and then opened the flask and poured out the contents, watching the silvery blue liquid swirl around. Then they began to watch the memory.

_Albus was standing in his jeans and the jumper their grandmother had knitted him for Christmas, laughing. Beside him was a pot full of some sort of gunk. Muggle cooking._

"_I don't think I'm very good," he said to the girl on the table. She smiled weakly and even managed a giggle. Happy May was almost unrecognizable from the one Rose had seen earlier that evening. There was a knock on the door._

"_I'll get it," said Al. He hurried over, and May got up to peak around. A big bloke was at the door._

"_Does Rose Weasley live here?" he asked, gruffly._

"_Yes, but she's not here…what's going on?" asked Al, nobody had failed to miss the shock cross the man's face when he had seen May peering round. He began to shove past Al, and as he did so another guy appeared behind him._

"_We're collecting what's ours," said the second man, punching Al in the stomach. May had begun to back away. Albus kicked the second man, who had dark hair, in the balls, and hurried to the other guy as he lunged for May. He grabbed him, and as the man turned back to hit Al, Al punched him square in the face, and there was loud crack. The man's nose had started bleeding heavily. The second man managed to join, and somehow Al was managing to keep his own. Punches, slaps and kicks were flying everywhere, and it was hard to tell which fist belonged to who. At some point the knocked into the table, and one of the men grabbed a chair, and began waving it about, until it was knocked out of his hands and broke with the force of its fall. _

_Stupid cheap furniture._

_May had remained frozen, watching with concern as the three men fought evenly on. But suddenly, one his Al in the face and he stumbled backwards. The dark haired man turned to Al._

"_I am going to beat the shit out of you," he said, in a heavy French accent. But Albus dodged out of his reach, and the man it the ground, presumably already slightly disorientated from the fight. Al kicked him hard and stamped on him until the man was unconscious; the violence seemed to be uncontrollable until there was a screech. The other man was nearing May now, and she was shivering with fear._

_Albus pulled out his wand._

"_STUPEFY!" he yelled. Then he ran for May, grabbed her and apparated and suddenly they were outside the hotel._

"_A room for two please?" asked Albus, supporting May at the waist and wandering in._

"_Sir, what are you doing with that girl? She looks terrified."_

"_Nothing," snapped Albus, furiously. "She's feeling really sick, and we need a room right now. Is 311 available?"_

"_Yes, sir. Any reason for that one in particular."_

"_My cousin and I stayed in that one last time. Any reason for the nosiness?"_

"_Here's your key," said the man with distain._

"_Thank you," said Albus, he grabbed the key and practically ran to the elevator and into the room. He placed May on the bed. She was shivering._

"_It's going to be okay," he told her. "Look, here's my jumper. Don't look so cold. Are you alright? Did they touch you anywhere?"_

_May shook her head._

"_Okay," said Albus. "Okay."_

The memory ended and Rose was thrust back into the scene. Brazier looked serious.

"I need to talk to someone, Rose."

And with that he left, and Rose stood still, watching the remnants of her apartment and replaying the scene with Al. As well as wondering what the fuck was going on, of course.

X

"Just tell her," said Olivia. "Just tell her, just tell her, just tell her, just tell her, just tell her, just tell her. Man up, Olivia. Tell her."

Olivia took a deep breath. And told her.

She'd spent the last hour researching the party, researching what it did, the support it had in France, previous and current leaders. It's current leader was Claude Mason, he had been working at the party for a number of years, and he was in his mid-thirties. He was well supported within the family, despite not being completely French. His father was English it seemed. She had seen a picture of Claude Mason, he was not bad looking. But obviously he was an evil psychopath so however he looked didn't matter.

Besides, he wasn't nearly as cute as Joe.

She'd researched party members, looking for evidence they'd been in the country, but found that nobody had, other than Mason. None of it made sense. She found a photograph of Mason dining out with a blonde woman.

This was all so useful.

And then she checked recent party donations.

"Scorpius's mum donated £10,000 galleons to the party," she told Rose.

"What?"

Olivia repeated it.

"I know what you said. I just…that can't be right, why would she? I mean, what…"

"Do you need to sit down?"

"Yes," said Rose quickly. Olivia fetched her a water, and Rose gulped it down thirstly.

"Sorry, you can't drink on the job," said Olivia.

"Just because…I mean it doesn't mean Scorp…I mean, he can't be…"

"Rose, I know this is hard to hear. It's hard to say, because I actually really like Scorp, and he's Joe's friend and your boyfriend and I thought he was actually quite a decent person…yeah, originally a bit of a man whore, but he seemed settled…but well, the thing is…his mum donated to the party, you told him about the mission, the house was attacked and neither of you were there. It all seems…I don't know, like it can't be a coincidence?"

What had Brazier said? Love can make us blind. Had she been blind?

"I'm going to fucking kill him," said Rose, breathing in.

"Rose? I…er…"

But she was gone. Disapparated before Olivia could even understand what was going on. Olivia debated for a moment whether to go after her, but what could she do? She had to give her information to Brazier, let Rose deal with her relationship trouble and hope that her best friend wouldn't end up in Azkaban for broken heart induced use of Avada Kedava.

X

"Rose," said Scorpius, beaming when he saw her safe. He'd been feeling quite third wheelish, and so had ended up sitting and waiting for her return.

"YOU BLOODY BASTARD," she yelled.

Not what he was expecting.

"What? Sweetie, are you okay?"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT. HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME? I ALWAYS KNEW YOU WERE AN ASSHOLE, BUT I LET YOU MAKE ME THINK YOU'D CHANGED. HOW COULD I BE SO STUPID?"

"Rose, I really don't know what you're talking about. Let's sit down and discuss…"

"I'M NOT DISCUSSING ANYTHING WITH YOU. I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!"

"What's going on out here? You guys are disturbing May."

"GET OUT AL. YOU HAVE NOTHING TO DO THIS."

"Rose, keep your voice down," Albus snapped angrily. "Whatever Malfoy's done you're going to forgive him in a second, have passionate sex, make me feel really awkward and then live happily ever after, so excuse me if I ask you to skip ahead to the happily ever after. I don't particularly like the first couple of parts."

"I won't be forgiving him for this," said Rose scathingly, her voice ice cold.

"WHAT DID I DO?" yelled Scorpius. Al sent him a look.

"You sold me out, you told your precious little torturing mother where we were, that we had May. And then they came and attacked us. Well, thanks so much for that."

"I didn't do that. AND WHAT ARE YOU SAYING ABOUT MY MOTHER."

"NO YELLING!"

"STAY OUT OF IT, POTTER!"

Albus left. Rose and Scorpius faced one another, their eyes narrowed and theirs mouths set in frowns. The Scorpius cracked.

"I didn't do any of those things, Rose," he said. "I love you."

"The worst thing…" said Rose after a pause, tears shining in her blue eyes. "Is that I actually believed that until a few moments ago."

"It's true."

"Scorpius, your mother donated to the same political party that's been torturing May."

"She…she…it wont be like that. My mum doesn't know anything about politicals. She's still fifteen inside, she doesn't CARE about that sort of thing. And even if she did, even if she's a psycho, I would never sell you out to her."

"So you didn't tell your mother about May living with me?"

"No, of course not," said Scorpius, relieved that Rose was beginning to calm down.

"And you didn't tell her anything about my mission?"

"I…"

"YOU DID!"

"I told her you had one, nothing else."

"And why the fuck should I believe you? You just go around with me, make me think you love, make me trust you and then relay it all to mummy so she can torture a few more muggles before she kisses you goodnight."

"THAT'S NOT TRUE, AND IT'S NOT FUCKING FAIR."

"DO YOU KNOW WHAT'S NOT FAIR?" yelled Rose, tears streaming down her face. "WHAT'S NOT FAIR IS THAT YOU MADE ME LOVE YOU. YOU MADE ME THINK YOU'D CHANGED, THAT YOU CARED ABOUT ME. AND WHEN WERE YOU GOING TO STOP LYING? WHEN MUMMY COMPLETED HER OBJECTIVE? THEN YOU WERE GOING TO DUMP ME AND RUN."

"Rose, I would never…"

"Get out!"

"Rose, I love you. Please," begged Scorpius, Rose was no longer the only one with a wet face. There was a pop.

"Rose, Brazier needs to see you right away," said Olivia awkwardly.

"Well, we all know what this is about," said Rose, angrily glaring at Scorpius.

"I think you should go," said Olivia.

"I think you should go," said Rose to Scorp. "Go and never come back. Because if I never see your face again, it will be too soon."

**Please, please don't hate me. I already hate myself; I can't believe I wrote that. Scorpius and Rose aren't the only ones crying. (Overly attached)**

**Thank you so much to RosexScorpius4ever, krc101, imzdapro (well done for getting the thing about the party…impressed), Yankeefan26, Nightingale1896, KneazleRose and LillyMay77 for their reviews.**

**Please let me know what you think guys, even if you just rant about how angry you are. XX**


	20. Chapter 19: Emotionally Confused

The pop echoed the silence across the apartment. Scorpius stood there for a few minutes, staring into the spot where she'd left.

"Guys?" said Al, poking his head around the door. Scorpius turned and stared back at him, red eyed. Al gasped a little.

"Don't tell me you're surprised, Potter. You must have been eavesdropping."

"Actually Malfoy," said Albus with an equal level of spite. "I used muffliato. Because May was sleeping, so I don't have a fucking clue what happened. Believe it or not, the state of your relationship is not the most important thing in my life."

Scorpius just glared at him.

"What…er…what did happen?" asked Albus, after a moment, the malice gone from his voice. He actually sounded quite apologetic.

"Your cousin thinks I'm using her and we're over," replied Scorpius.

"She's bloody ridiculous. Obviously, you're not. I mean, you can't have known all the way back when you too first got together all the shit that was going to go down. Nobody could have."

"Thank you, Potter. I could really have used that argument about five minutes ago."

"Mate, don't listen to Rose. She's tired and it's been a long day."

"That doesn't give her a fucking excuse not to trust me," snapped Scorpius.

"She'll come around," said Albus.

"Well, if she's going to treat me like that, I don't know that I want her to."

"You don't mean that."

"I'm getting a drink."

And with that he was gone.

X

"Rose, are you alright?"

"Yes," said Rose, making a conscious effort to stop the tear flow. "Just had to sort a few things out."

"Right, well I think we have some more evidence of people being involved. We've made the arrest of Claude Mason, and we arrested his father."

"His father?"

"John Mason. Your partner on the mission."

Rose gasped.

"We don't know he was involved, of course. It's just a link. We're going to interview him now, get his story. I wanted to see if you wanted to join, but of course, only if you feel up to it."

"Yes. I need to know now," said Rose, feeling that burning sensation creeping up her neck.

"Okay," nodded Brazier, and together they apparated to the ministry and to Brazier's office, where John Mason was being kept under supervision of other aurors.

"John," said Brazier.

"Sir, Rose. I am so sorry. I can explain, but I don't know…"

"Would you like to take Verisatserum so that we can use this as official valuable evidence in court?" asked one of the aurors.

"Yes," swallowed John Mason. "I think I would."

He was handed a flask, which he downed in one. He then stared at everyone in the room, as his pupils dilated slightly.

"John. Would you mind telling us some information about your son, Claude Mason."

John Mason swallowed. "I met Claude's mother, Lucy, on a trip to Paris, a couple of years before the war broke out. We fell in love and we had Claude. However, when I heard rumours that the Dark Lord had returned, I came back to England, leaving my son, who was then only a year old. I suppose his mother must have thought I had died, as she moved on and married someone else. A political extremist. Claude grew up thinking of him as his father. I barely saw Lucy after that. A couple of weeks ago, I heard my son was in England. I didn't see him and he made no effort to come to me. However, after the mission, Claude, knowing that I am an auror, came to me."

"Yes?"

"He told me that he had some connection with the girl. I asked him if he had been responsible for the torture and he told me that he hadn't. I believed him. He said that the girl had crucial information and he had to find her. So…I told him. I told him the girl was staying with Rose…I know, it's stupid. I know that in some part of my mind, I knew. I knew that I shouldn't tell him. But…but he's my son, and I love him so much."

They gave John Mason a few minutes to recollect himself.

"And," said Brazier. "What did Claude do then?"

"Nothing, or at least so I thought until the aurors were called to your apartment Rose."

"Why didn't you come forward?" asked Rose. If he had come forward she would have known. She wouldn't have second guessed everything and been a complete and utter idiot.

"I was scared. I was afraid for myself and for Claude," said John, sounding terrified as he said it. "I am so sorry, Rose."

"Do you know anything else? Any others who were involved?"

"No."

"Thank you, John. I think that that is enough for today; we will of course come to you if we have any other questions. This evidence will of course be presented during the court case, which will take place on Thursday, and your choice to reveal everything you know will be taken into account."

"Thank you, Sir."

The door closed as Rose and Brazier walked out of the office, in to the silent corridor.

"What of Astoria Malfoy?" asked Rose.

"She's been arrested," confirmed Brazier. "We don't know yet what has gone on."

"I think it's time I got home," said Rose, after a moment of nodding and reflection.

"I dare say it is. It's nearly two am. I will see you on Monday, Rose, otherwise I will be in touch."

Rose nodded and left.

"Albus? Albus, is Scorpius still here? Please tell me he waited up? I've made the most terrible mistake in the world. I am the worst person ever and I just…"

The expression on Al's face said it all.

"He's not here is he?"

"No, Rose. You fucked it up."

"I know," said Rose. "I know."

X

Scorpius was drinking in his old favourite bar. The one he had used to pick up girls in the 'not so good old days' or maybe they were the 'good old days' after all. Girlfriends brought nothing to your life but crap, apparently. He was eavesdropping too; the people to his right were discussing the arrest of Astoria Malfoy.

Tonight was going bloody brilliantly.

"Hey," said a voice from behind. A dark haired girl flickered her eyelashes suggestively.

"Hello."

"Are you drinking all alone?"

"Indeed I am. My girlfriend dumped me about an hour ago."

"Do you want some company?"

"I don't know. I'm feeling pretty down, right now."

"Aww," croned the girl, her false nails brushing against Scorp's chest. "Perhaps I can make you feel better."

"I don't know," slurred Scorpius. Part of him wanted to reply with someone inviting, like 'what did you have in mind?' but the other part of him wanted to yell at her for not being Rose. So he kept his mouth shut because to be honest, he didn't trust it.

"I'm sure I could help you," she purred.

"I think that's my job," said a deep voice.

"Joe!" cried Scorp. "How did you know?"

The girl's eyes widened a little. She seemed to have found new prey.

"Olivia told me. And I guessed you'd be here, you know, knowing you since you were eleven makes some things elementary," explained Joe. "Sorry, miss. Do you mind leaving me with my friend? Alone."

"Whatever," replied the dark haired girl her flirty tone replaced by an angry one. She tossed her ebony locks and began stalking away to the next available guy. At 2.30am it was getting harder to be picky.

"What are you doing here mate?"

"What are you doing here?" replied Joe, running a hand through his dark hair. He had a white shirt on, it looked as though he had dressed in a hurry.

"Drinking away my sorrows…don't look at me like that Joe. I had two options. One, I could break into the ministry and free my mum. Two, I could kidnap Rose and try to knock some sense into her. Or three, I could drown my sorrows."

"That was three things."

"And?"

"You said two…oh, never mind."

"I can't do the first one because Rose will think she was right all along. I can't do the second because she's an auror so you know…she's probably better at defence than I am at attack. So what's left…drowning my sorrows."

"Scorp."

"It's okay, Joe. It will be like old times at Hogwarts. You'll have a girlfriend. I'll be single and Ros-Weaselbug will hate me. I was happy at Hogwarts, Joe. I can be happy here."

"Scorp, let's just get you home okay?"

"Alright."

Scorpius and Joe apparated to his apartment and he lay on the sofa, while Joe made him a potion that was supposedly meant to sober him up. As he was pouring out the potion into a glass, a photograph caught his eye. He picked it up. Rose was smiling and laughing while Scorpius tickled her.

And Joe realised that Scorpius hadn't been truly happy at Hogwarts.

He turned and brought Scorp the drink.

"Scorpius," he said, after the colour was beginning to return to his friend's cheeks.

"Joseph?"

"Sometimes people make mistakes, and sometimes other people hold them to those mistakes. I don't think it's healthy for you to be this unhappy."

"Joe, I know what you are saying. But, she won't listen to me, Joe. Do you think I didn't try?"

The raw pain in Scorpius' voice was open and easy to hear, and it was clear that this was the sort of emotion he would only reveal to Joe.

"You do know, that there will be a trial and the truth will come out, and you'll be proved innocent. That's all I'm saying."

Joe patted his friend's shoulder and left.

"I don't know if I want her back," Scorpius whispered to himself. But he knew he was lying. He knew that he wanted Rose in his arms more than he wanted anything else in the world. It was the only thing his head and heart agreed on.

X

"So, I guess," said Albus, awkwardly. "That we won't be going to the Burrow today?"

He, Rose and May were sitting in a café just a few streets from the hotel.

"The Burrow is our grandparent's house," said Rose to May.

"I know," she replied. "Albus told me. Are we going?"

"No," said Rose. "Well, you two can. I just, I don't feel up for it."

"You want to sit around and be miserable, don't you?" sighed Albus. "Well, you know the only way to get over it is to go find him and apologise."

"I know, but…Albus, I feel so bad."

"That's why you have to apologise, Rose. You owe him that." He pointed to the headline of the Daily Prophet:

_**Mrs Malfoy's Mystery Crimes**_

_Aurors refuse to comment on why the former Mrs Draco Malfoy, the former Astoria Greengrass and mother to Scorpius Malfoy, has been arrested. The Prophet hopes for an exclusive cover soon._

"He's got a lot to deal with Rose."

"Yeah, so the last thing he wants is to see me."

"Well, I think you should go apologise anyway. It would probably make him feel better."

"Albus."

"Rose."

"I swear you don't even like him."

"I never said I did. I just think that you were completely and utterly in the wrong," shrugged Albus. His posture was casual but his eyes were burning at belief in what he was saying.

"Albus, you're pushing it right now. You might lose your title as favourite cousin."

"You don't get to be favourite cousin by playing it safe, Rose. You get it by taking risks that will pay off. Now go."

"When did you grow up?"

"When I had to. We can talk about it later, Rose. Good luck, I'll make brownies for when you get home."

Rose smiled and walked away from the table, getting ready to prepare herself.

"We need to get ingredients for these brownies," Albus told May.

"I'm not sure that you are very good at cooking, Albus. I don't think it's the best idea."

"You act more like a 40 year old mum, than a 19 year old girl," Albus replied. May raised her eyebrows at him.

"I suppose we could buy some instead," he muttered.

X

He smelt of liquor. He should probably shower. A nice soothing shower, to relax.

To feel fresh and new.

Maybe the shower could wash away his problems as it washed away everything else on his body. It could wash away lingering pain of Rose's yelling, the strained embarrassment, concern and injustice he felt for his mother, his worry for his father.

Or maybe it would just get him clean.

Because that's all you can really expect a shower to do.

X

Bracing herself for this, as though it were a one-on-one appointment with the Dark Lord, Rose apparated to Scorpius's apartment. He emerged, looking confused from the bathroom, with a white towel wrapped around his waist. He looked shocked, Rose noticed after she forced herself to look at his face and not his toned abs and six pack.

"Isn't it too soon to be seeing my face again?" he asked bitterly, having recovering himself.

"Um," said Rose. "I…"

"Came to shout at me some more?"

"No, I…"

"Came to break my heart into even smaller pieces?"

"NO!" said Rose, feeling her temper flare through her. "I came to apologise, for being a bitch towards you. I came to say that I'm sorry, and that it wasn't your fault so why don't you just shut up and listen to me. I get that I deserve the stupid rude comments, but I came to apologise. Okay?"

Scorpius looked slightly shocked by her outburst, then a smirk played on his lips. "Calm down, Weaselbug."

Rose narrowed her eyes.

"Don't call me that," she snapped. Scorpius laughed. He was surprised at how real the sound was. He'd practiced laughing in the shower, and they'd all sounded pretty false.

"Why are you laughing?" demanded Rose.

"I just think it's funny that you came here to apologise and you've pretty much just been yelling at me."

"Oh, right. Sorry," said Rose, blushing.

"It is fine," said Scorpius, sounding distracted. "It's amusing."

"Right…well, I guess the thing is…"

"Can you just wait a moment, I need to put some clothes on, I think. Wouldn't want your mind to wander away from what you're saying," said Scorpius, smirking again. Rose scowled at him. Could that boy be serious for just a moment? She sat on the sofa as she waited for him, and as she did so her annoyance began to fade away, as memories came flooding back. When they had sat up all night chatting, the first time she had been here and drunk so many of those cocktails, the heated make-out sessions that always turned into…

"Right."

Scorpius' voice sent a bolt through her and tore her away from the wandering thoughts.

Back to reality.

"Look, Scorpius. I wanted to say that I am really sorry for suspecting you of faking our whole relationship and using me and everything I accused me of. It was totally and utterly wrong of me, and I am so sorry. And I understand if you never want to see me again, because that it what I deserve. But if this is the last time I see you, I want you to know that I love you more than I have ever loved anyone and I am so sorry."

There was silence. It was agonizing.

"So, I guess I should go," said Rose, in a quiet voice.

"No, stay."

"Okay." There had been some strange authority in Scorpius' voice, which made Rose not want to question anything. Plus obviously she was grateful that his words hadn't been get out. There was more silence.

"Scorpius?"

"Merlin, Rose," he snapped. "I'm just. I'm so angry at you, and how you treated me. Half the time I look at you and my blood is boiling and the other half, like when you started yelling instead of apologising and when you finished that speech, I just…I just want to grab you and kiss you. But I'm still so angry at you. You hurt me, Rose. What you said, what you accused me of – that was really wrong. You didn't trust me, and it broke me. It has been the longest few hours of my life. And now you're back. And half of me is so angry, that you have that audacity to think that you're still welcome in my apartment. But the other half is so happy, that you know the truth and that you love me. I'm just confused," finished Scorpius, with his head in his hands.

"I deserve you to be angry at me," said Rose, after a moment.

"Yes, you do."

"I don't deserve you to still want to be with me," said Rose, feeling her heart grow heavy.

"No, but I do," he said, meeting her blue eyes with his grey ones, and melting her heart into an bubbling potion of emotion, threatening to explode all over her chest. He reached for her hand and played with her fingers.

"Really?"

"Rose, thinking that I'd lost you was the worst experience of my life. I'm not letting it happen again, even if you act like an unreasonable bitch."

"Hurting you like that, waking up and knowing what I must have done to you, was the worst thing that I have ever felt. It was worse than when my pygmy puff died because I forgot to feed it." Scorpius smirked as Rose continued. "I won't…I can't go through it again. I love you so much."

"I love you too, Rose," replied Scorpius, caressing her face. He wiped a tear with his thumb.

"Don't cry," he said.

"I just feel awful, I'm so sorry," she said, collapsing onto him, her body shuddering with uncontrollable sobs. "And I'm so happy and so relieved."

"Sounds like you're emotionally confused too?"

"Yeah," she sniffed. "Emotionally confused, but mostly happy."

"Mostly happy, huh, me too."

Rose sighed and snuggled into his shoulder, just listening to the his heartbeat and regular movement in and out of his chest.

"So tell me about this pygmy puff?" he said after a moment.

**Yay! They're back together but I wouldn't say they were quite back to normal…yet. What do you guys think? Too soon? Also, what do you think Astoria's involvement/motives were?**

**I got so much feedback on the last chapter, it was amazing. I'm sorry I upset you all! Thanks to RosexScorpius4ever, crazybookgirl101, Annoyed, hahpb95, imtiy44z, KneazleRose, nick55, Honey Badger 7437, Darknesscomesfromwithin, ronandhermioneismagical, Maraudette98, theharrypotterworld, LillyMay77, Nightingale1896 and .Rowling for your reviews!**

**Let me know what you think!**


	21. Chapter 20: That's All That Matters

Rose gripped Scorpius' hand tightly, as his mother was lead into trial. She looked as though she hadn't eaten for weeks, and Scorpius almost seemed to recoil when he saw her gaunt face and dirty curls. Draco, on Scopius's right, sat emotionless, staring at the woman who was once his wife.

"Do you really think she did it?" Scorpius asked his father nervously, sounding like a little boy again.

"I don't know," said Draco with a sigh. Four grey eyes met. Scorpius nodded, and Rose gave his hand another squeeze. They sat behind the members of Wizengamot, the dungeon dark and sinister. Previously, Mason had been given a life sentence for the torture of nine muggles, eight in France and just May in Britain. May had stood bravely and gave all the evidence that she could remember, Albus watching her with concerned green eyes.

Afterwards, they had gone for a coffee.

They didn't need or want to be here for what was to come next.

"Disciplinary Hearing conducted by myself, Dominic Brazier," began Rose's boss, in a deep booming voice. "We are here to investigate charges of supported torture on Ms Astoria Greengrass, nee Malfoy. Ms Greengrass, you are charged with knowingly assisting financial aid to a party that tortured muggles, and encouraging them to begin their disgusting work in this country. How do you plead?"

"Not guilty," said Astoria, a tremor of fear in her voice. A murmur went through the crowd. Rose squeezed Scorpius's hand even tighter.

But now was not the time to inform her that his hand may just drop off from lack of circulation.

"Ms Greengrass," said Brazier, sitting back. "Would you care to explain?"

"Yes, I mean I…I don't know, where to begin," she stammerd.

"How about when you first met Claude Mason, and why you became involved with his party?"

"I met Claude at a party, in Paris. It was after my divorce, I went to France to stay with some friends who had lived there, and we went to a gala together. I spotted Claude right away. He was by far the most handsome man in the room," began Astoria. Draco shifted uncomfortably, and Rose could feel the awkwardness radiating round the dungeon. "I went up and began to chat with him. He told me that he ran a political party, which aimed for equality for all. He told me he wanted everyone's magical talent to be maximised."

There was clamour of noise throughout the dungeon.

"That's one way of putting it," said Rose, spitefully to herself. Neither Scorpius nor Draco heard over the other shouts and protests.

"SILENCE!" yelled Brazier. "So what happened next?"

"Well, I gave him my address…I never expected to see such a handsome young man again, especially not one ten years younger than, but a part of me hoped to. A week or two went by, and I didn't hear anything, which though expected was disappointing."

"This is some bizarre, twisted love story," yelled someone a couple of rows down from Rose.

"If you cannot maintain the silence, Mr Thomas, I suggest that you leave," said Brazier, coldly. "However, Mrs Malfoy his point stands. This is sounding like something a teenage girl might tell her friends, and it seems hardly appropriate for our court case."

"I'm answering your question, why I donated the money."

"I see. Continue," said Brazier.

"Alright. I hadn't heard anything for a few weeks, when one of my friends told me that my ex-husband was seeing someone. I didn't want her to think I was pathetic and subsequently tell him, so I lied and told her I was too. She invited me to bring him to a dinner that she was throwing…After that I knew I had to do something.

"I've had a lot money saved, so I contacted him and said I was interested in making a donation. We went to dinner and discussed it. I explained my proposition to him. He would act as my boyfriend and I would pay him 10,000 galleons."

There was a silence.

Then the dungeon exploded.

"WHAT? SHE EXPECTS US TO BELIEVE THESE LIES?"

"SHE BOUGHT HIM?"

"ISN'T THAT THE SAME AS A CONSORT?"

"THIS IS THE FUCKING STUPIDEST THING, I HAVE EVER HEARD!"

"ORDER," commanded Brazier. Silence, excluding the echoes of sound off of the empty walls descended. "Ms Greengrass, is this true?"

"Yes, and I'm willing to take Veritaserum to prove it."

"I have one question before we resort to the potions," said the woman to Brazier's left. "Why, if you were paying for the…_services_ of Claude Mason, was the check not made out to you, but to the party."

"Ironically…because I didn't want anyone to find out."

X

Rose, Draco and Scorpius sat awkwardly in the coffee shop a few streets down, as the interview was conducted again under the potion. Brazier had ordered that only six people accompanied him, given the outbursts that he had witnessed previously.

It's pretty hard not to feel awkward when you've just discovered your ex/mother/boyfriend's mother whose arrest you had been responsible for, has just been paying a criminal to be her consort.

Not a coffee topic.

"Dad," said Scorpius, after a moment. "You know how mum said in the trial that you were seeing somebody else. Are you?"

"Honestly, Scorpius. That's what you picked up from that trial?"

"If you'd rather discuss mum having a consort…"

"No! No, it's fine. I was seeing somebody. I had gone on a couple of dates but we aren't together now."

"Oh…why not?"

"Because…" said Draco after a pause. "I couldn't imagine her looking at me, like Rose looks at you. Or vice versa, and after that night that I had dinner with you both, I couldn't stick in the relationship."

Rose blushed and Scorpius smiled at her, and then patted his father's hand reassuringly.

"You'll find someone."

"Don't be patronising now, Scorpius," said Draco, with a warning tone, but his smile was real. He glanced down at his watch. "We should think about going to hear the verdict soon…"

"Dad," said Scorpius abruptly as Draco tailed off. "If everything that mum said is true, what will be her punishment?"

"I don't know," sighed Draco. "Ask Rose, she's the one who works in law enforcement."

"Yeah, thanks for that," thought Rose, as both sets of silver eyes turned and stared at her.

"She won't go to Azkaban," said Rose. "Because everything she did was unintentional. However, she'll probably have to pay a fine which will go towards helping those who have been damaged and some hours of community service, I would expect."

"And if she was lying?" asked Scorpius.

"Azkaban," said Rose, her mouth in a grim line. Scorpius nodded, looking as though he were fighting back the tears. She slipped her hand into his, and gave it a squeeze. Together, the three of them walked in and through the ministry, as if in a trance.

"She's in the room at the end," said Brazier, as he passed them in the corridor.

"I'll wait outside," said Rose, allowing the two men to go and see.

X

Twenty minutes later, Rose was called in. Twenty minutes of agonizing nerves.

"Hello," said Astoria, "are you the one responsible for my arrest?"

"Partially," said Rose, apologetically. There was an awkward silence.

"Don't do that to, Rose. Everything's okay now," said Draco.

"Everyone knows about Claude Mason now," corrected Astoria. "Hence it is not okay."

"So you're innocent?" said Rose, picking it up.

"Oh, an Auror who has a scrap of brain power, what surprise. Do you have manners to, or should I not be too hopeful?"

"Mum," snapped Scorpius.

"This girl," said Astoria, shrilly. "Is responsible for my arrest. For the fine I had to pay, which was bloody ridiculous and the 150 hours of community service that I have to do. Not to mention, that the bank has been banned from allowing a cash flow that is any more than 2000 galleons from my account."

"I'm sorry that all that happened to you," said Rose, solemnly.

"You should be, young lady."

"Mum, you're not exactly innocent."

"That's enough from you, Scorpius. Now, I'm afraid to say that based on my impressions of this girl, I don't want you to see her anymore."

There was a silence.

"Well, that's a bit unlucky for you, then," said Draco, after a moment. "I doubt Scorpius would stop seeing her for anything."

"I won't see him anymore if he doesn't."

"You're hysterical," said Draco. "I'm not seeing him if he does break-up with Rose, because it would be the most depressing thing, like seeing a hippogriff with its wings cut off."

"DRACO! That's horrible…Scorpius?"

"Dad's wrong. Me without Rose wouldn't be like a hippogriff with its wings gut off, it would be like a hippogriff with its wings, legs and beak cut off. It wouldn't be a hippogriff."

"Scorpius?" said his mother, her eyes flashing.

"I'm adult now; in fact I've been an adult for years. I don't want to make a choice, but if you are the one making me choose…that just reinforces that I want to be with Rose," said Scorpius, reaching for her hand.

There was a silence. Rose stood there, confident that everyone could hear her heartbeat. Astoria sighed.

"I guess I'll have to accept her. I'm not losing my son."

Scorpius smiled and hugged Rose's waist bringing her body closer to his own. He kissed the top of her head.

"Thank you," he said.

"Yes, yes. I think you should all get out now, before I change my mind."

"What about you?"

"I have to stay, until my release papers are signed," said Astoria bitterly, shooting a glare at a scarlet Rose.

"Alright," said Scorpius, kissing his mother on the cheek.

"It was nice to meet you," said Rose.

"I would say the same back to you," replied Astoria, "but I think there's still some Veritaserum in my system so I don't think I can."

"Take care, Astoria," said Draco.

"Take care, Draco," replied Astoria, as her three guests shut the door behind them.

"Rose, you look pale. Let's go get you home," said Scorpius, he gave his father a hug. Then Draco gave Rose a quick hug. They hurried out the ministry back to Rose's flat.

"YES!" cried May, moments after they apparated in. She had thrown her hands up in celebration, and the life that was on her face was beautiful. She's been gradually getting more animated over the past few days. Albus on the other hand had never looked worse. He had his head in his hands.

"What happened?" asked Scorpius.

"I lost," said Albus, shaking his head.

"I WON!" whooped May.

"At Table Quidditch?" said Rose, sounding shocked. "But she's a Muggle!"

"But she's a girl!" exclaimed Scorpius.

"We played muggle rules," said Albus, not looking up from his hands.

"There are muggle rules for Table Quidditch?" said Rose.

"Of course there are, you adorably stupid girl," said Scorpius affectionately. Rose dug her elbow into his stomach. "The colour is coming back to your cheeks now."

"Okay," responded Rose. "So how do you play with Muggle Rules?"

X

"You look terrific," said Scorpius as Rose and May left the bedroom. They had spent the past hour in there, all that could be heard was giggling. Joe had thrown together a celebration for Scorp tonight, as a surprise. Though it was only casual, Rose had seized the opportunity to get May alone to chat about stuff…aka Albus.

"Yeah, what…er…what he said," said Albus, blushing. Rose bit back the urge to coo at her cousin, normally so confident but now tongue-tied.

"Thank you," she replied instead, while May blushed.

"Shall we?" asked Scorpius. "I expect Joe and Olivia will be waiting for us. You two took far too long to get ready."

"Olivia will not be ready," predicted Rose, scoffing at the thought. It turned out Rose was right.

Rick and Henry were already there when they arrived, and not knowing Albus, May and Rose too well, it quickly became awkward.

Until Scorpius dropped that May had beaten Al at Table Quidditch.

That got the banter flowing.

"Really," said Rose, with an eye roll. "They are so obsessed with that game."

"Well, it is quite fun," said May.

"Merlin," laughed Rose. "Albus really has met his match."

"Hey guys," said Olivia, breezing in. "Sorry for taking too long. Joe just doesn't understand that I need more than ten minutes' notice for when people are coming over." The last sentence was said loud enough to be in Joe's earshot and turned and blew her kiss.

"Sorry sweetheart."

"Whatever," said Olivia with an eye roll. "So great that you guys could come anyway. Pretty that's what the hostess is supposed to say. How are you both?"

"Good," they both replied.

"Excellent, me too…ooh, I saw that little eye flicker May," said Olivia, causing the younger girl to blush. "I shall be wanting to hear about you and my favourite Potter. Unfortunately, I must quickly go check on the food."

"She's weirdly observant sometimes," said Rose by way of explanation, May just nodded.

"Okay, so the food will be ready in about ten. Which should give you enough time to talk through the Albus situation."

"There's nothing going on," said May.

"Officially," added in Rose, gleefully.

"Ooh, so we're still waiting for the one with the messy hair to make the move. Do you like him?"

"Yes," blushed May.

"Excellent, I'll give him a kick up the ass, get him in gear," said Olivia.

"No!" said May.

"Oh, I know he likes you too, I can tell. Otherwise, why would he let you win at Table Quidditch?"

"He didn't let me…"

"I'm not sure he let her…"

"Oh come on, of course he did. He was being gentlemanly, and it's really sweet."

"Olivia, have you met Al? He isn't sweet, he's competitive."

"A very good point, Rose. Well, congratulations on beating Albus."

"Apparently he's only lost once in the past two years."

"That was to my boyfriend," said Olivia proudly. "Would it be easier if Rose gave him a kick up the ass?"

"What?"

"To get him to ask her on a real date, not to play Table Quidditch."

"That's probably Al's idea of a real date."

"If so, Merlin help you," Olivia said to May. "Right, foods ready everyone."

The boys managed to draw their eyes away from the game just long enough to realise that their stomachs were growling. The eight of them sat around the table, joking and laughing, all Hogwarts houses, blood statuses and pasts forgotten, just for a couple of hours.

X

Rose had leant May her bedroom, and was staying with Scorpius again, as had been the plan for about five nights in a row now.

"I do hope Albus asks May on a proper date soon," said Rose, as she clambered into bed next to her boyfriend.

"Well, I assume he'll have to, otherwise those Quidditch tickets will be a waste."

"What Quidditch tickets?"

"The ones he bought for the Canons, crap team."

"They're not," said Rose warning him. "I haven't heard about these?"

"Oh really? He told me when you were getting ready. He's planning on asking her to go watch the last game of the season with him. He thinks she'll find it exciting."

"Awww," said Rose.

"I don't know if Quidditch is cute," said Scorpius. "We could do something like that if you wanted…"

"I was 'awwing' because he told you."

"Oh," said Scorpius. "He did."

Rose grinned and snuggled into her boyfriend's shoulder. He placed his arm around her. He wanted to talk to her about the day but as he searched his mind for the words he felt Rose's breathing grow heavier, and realised that she had fallen asleep.

Tomorrow would be another day.

X

Scorpius awoke.

Alone.

Where was Rose?

What time was it? He grabbed his watch.

"Lumos," he whispered, staring at the watch that he had been given for his seventeenth birthday. Ten past five. Where was she?

He normally would have gone straight back to sleep, knowing that she'd probably slip herself back underneath the covers at some point.

But tonight something was wrong. He threw on a t-shirt to cover his bare chest and checked every room in the flat. No sign of her.

He wandered around the building. No sign of her.

He apparated into her own flat. No sign of her.

Then he knew.

He walked in, and Rose looked up in surprise as he entered.

"It's so beautiful by night," said Rose, gesturing to the Scorpius's garden.

"I don't like to think of it as beautiful."

"Too manly for that," joked Rose. He nodded and came and sat next to her.

"How did you know I was here?"

"I don't know, I just did."

She nodded.

"Why are you here?" he asked gently, brushing a curl from the side of her face.

"I woke up," said Rose.

"And you felt the need to go sit in a garden all by yourself instead of stay underneath the warm duvet with your extremely attractive boyfriend?"

Rose laughed a little. "It does sound crazy."

There was a silence.

"Tell me," Scorpius whispered, reaching for her hand.

"Do you think your mum will ever like me?" asked Rose.

"What?"

"I just…she was so angry at me." A single tear dribbled down her face, gleaming platinum in the darkness. "She banned you from dating me."

"And I refused," said Scorpius, placing his arm around her and pulling her in.

"I know, and I'm so glad you did. But I don't want you to be going against your parents," she whispered.

"I'm not going against my dad, he likes you."

Rose nodded weakly, not really feeling any better.

"Look, Rose. My mum is what you would call…highly strung. She feels things deeply but they disappear in moments. She'll learn to love you; nobody who is with you for more than an hour could ever not love you."

"Do you really think so?"

"I know so."

"Okay," sniffed Rose.

"Besides, she's a parent. She just wants me to be happy, and when she sees how happy you make me, it will be impossible for her not to want us to be together. I think the real problem is your dad," he joked.

"He's a softie," said Rose, with a giggle. "He just likes to pretend otherwise."

"I'll believe that when I see it," said Scorpius.

They were silent for another moment.

"It doesn't matter anyway," said Rose, after a minute. "It doesn't matter to me if my dad doesn't like you, or doesn't want me to see you. I need you."

"I need you too."

"I love you so much that I feel like I'm going to explode."

"Please don't. I love you so much that if you exploded I wouldn't laugh, not even for a split second," said Scorpius. Rose rolled her eyes.

"I want to be with you for a really long time, Rose," he said softly, into her shoulder.

"Good, because I'm not going anywhere. I love you."

"I love you."

"And that's all that matters right?"

"Right. That's all that matters."

Rose kissed him.

That night they slept in the garden, arms wrapped around one another, faces almost touching and smiles lingering on their mouths.

**The End**

**Thank you to everyone who has alerted, favourited or reviewed this fanfiction. I genuinely don't think I could have finished it without your support! You guys are all amazing, and I hope you enjoyed my story. A fluffy epilogue will be up soon.**

**Thank you to Condiotti, hhapb95, RosexScorpius4ever, Guest, OTPScorose, Guest (not sure if you're the same guest, but have two thanks even if you are!) and LillyMay77 for reviewing, you guys all made me smile.**

**So let me know what you think, and I will be updating the fluffy epilogue soon.**


	22. Epilogue

The sun shone in a bright cliché kind of way. The kind you dreamed about on your wedding day. Rose, in her purple dress gave Olivia's hand a reassuring pat. Her friend looked about as pale as her dress. Olivia smiled at her, and sighed, half-nervous, half-content.

"It will be fine," Rose reassured her. "The flowers arrived this morning, and they look beautiful. Your grandmother is sitting at the front, and when I spoke to Scorp this morning and the rings are safe and sound."

"I know it will fine," said Olivia. "You've been perfect Rose, everything you've organised will be amazing."

"Then why are you worrying?"

"Why are you worrying then?"

"You know…first day of the rest of my life and all that crap…"

"I remember," confirmed Rose, the memory forcing the corners of her lips upwards. "But you know, as soon as you see Joe at the other end, it will be easy."

It had been for Rose. The stress of the wedding and the bickering between families, the fear of making it perfect enough for Scorp's mother who had just started to not pull a face at the mention of Rose's name. No matter how many times Scorpius had told it didn't matter as long as they were married. No matter how many times Rose had agreed, when it came to the day, it all mattered. Or so she had thought. But as they turned the corner to walk up that aisle and her father had whispered 'are you sure?' - She had seen his smiling face.

The only thing she needed to see. The only thing she did see, at least properly for the rest of the day. Of course she had seen Al's thumbs up as she reached the end, her father's loving and slightly wet eyes as he had given her to Scorp, her mother and cousins crying hysterically into their hands…even Hugo looked a bit emotional.

But she hadn't _seen_ them.

They were like a blur around her, and Scorp's smile and the evident joy that was written so obviously across his plain features were the only thing she had seen in focus.

Of course, she could hardly put this into words, so she patted Olivia once more.

"Are you ready, my darling?" asked Paul, popping his head around the door.

"Yes, Papa," said Olivia, and she stood up.

"You look beautiful," said Paul, suddenly breaking into emotional French.

It was a good thing Rose didn't understand, she probably would have cried.

"It's going to be okay," said Olivia to herself.

"Of course," said Rose, beaming at her friend.

"I don't want to trip in these shoes…I'm almost jealous of your flats," said Olivia, casting her eye over Rose's pumps enviously.

"Well, I can barely walk normally in these shoes, imagine me in heels," replied Rose. Olivia laughed as her eyes travelled to the bump on Rose's stomach, which was beginning to cause her friend to waddle.

Olivia hugged her friend, burying her head in her shoulder, before pulling away, pushing the strands of her hair from her face and checking the mirror once more. She smiled at herself, in a way that was probably supposed to be reassuring, then took her father's arm.

Rose immediately followed in front, joining May who had just appeared at the door in her matching purple dress. She smiled.

And together they began to walk up the grassy aisle. Rose had a mini panic, that she hadn't performed the spell that would stop Olivia's heels getting stuck. But she had. Mays' heels were demonstrating that, as she glided confidently next to Rose.

Great.

May looked like a supermodel, while Rose looked like she was part snowman.

As they turned the corner, Albus, sitting in the second row, broke out into a grin. He even managed to look at May's face, rather than her legs. Rose mentally congratulated him. Joe looked at her with a mixture of bliss, nerves and pride and she smiled at him.

But not for long.

Because next to Joe, was a rather handsome blonde who Rose had claimed as her own once. And he was look at her with same expression he had on their day, apart from less nervous. When he caught Rose looking at him he winked. Rose blushed. He smirked.

Some things never get old.

The processions met the altar, and Rose and May were allowed to go and sit down, as was Scorp. He slid down next to his wife and linked his fingers with hers. Olivia was facing Joe now, her beam lighting the whole room.

"She's so beautiful," whispered Rose.

"How many times have I told you stop referring to yourself in the third person?" replied Scorpius, raising an eyebrow.

"Shhh," Rose replied, desperately trying to control her crazy hormone levels and her heartbeat, which was faster than a Nimbus 5000.

He obliged. With Scorpius slowly stroking her hand, the ceremony passed quickly, Rose could barely see through the happy and proud tears at the end.

"Come on, Mrs Malfoy," he whispered at the end. "I believe we owe a certain couple our congratulations."

"Lead the way," Rose laughed. They were joined by Albus and May.

"Oh, Rose you didn't cry did you?" said Albus looking affectionately ashamed of her.

"Oh shut up, Al. You know my hormones are driving my mood swings."

"You can't always use that as an excuse," said Al, rolling his eyes.

"Albus, your eyes were definitely not dry at our wedding," observed Scorpius, pulling his arm around Rose's waist.

"That's because there was something in them. It was a dusty church. Merlin, how many times do I have to repeat that?"

"About as many times as we did a dust removing spell on the church," whispered Scorpius to Rose, but he just smiled at Al, whose green eyes had narrowed at the whispering.

"Whatever," said Rose's cousin after a moment, linking his fingers with May's. "You both look beautiful."

"Thank you, Albus," said Scorpius. May and Rose laughed. Al sighed and shook his head.

X

"A toast to my dear friend Joe. I am sure I have about a thousand embarrassing stories to tell you all, but if you want to hear about the time he dyed himself green for a Quidditch match and failed to get it off a week later or the time her performed some pretty feminine ballads, with a choreographed dance, you can come and see me later," said Scorpius, as Joe groaned beside him and the audience laughed.

Why was he best man again?

"What I really want to say about Joe, is that he has big heart. He taught me a few things in life. And the most important of them, was that it's not dorky to be in love. It's cool. It's fine to act like an idiot to impress a girl, to put your heart out there, where it can so easily be crushed. The reward is worth the risk. That is what Joe has taught me. His lovely wife Olivia, has taught me many a thing too. Like to go for everything, to be honest and to let love in. I have both of them to thank for my lovely wife," he said, touching Rose's shoulder. He glanced at his watch. "I do have time to tell you a story about Joe. I think we'll go for the singing and dancing one, shall we?"

X

"Your speech was very good," said Rose, as she sat with Scorpius, watching the dancers.

"Thank you," he said. "Shall we dance?"

"I'm not sure, I'm capable," laughed Rose, nodding to the couples jumping about and grinding to the heavy bass.

Scorpius frowned. "Sorry about that.

"It is your fault," said Rose, seriously. But she was smiling.

"Well, yours too. It's not my fault you can't resist me."

"I thought it was the other way around."

"Perhaps it is," observed Scorpius.

"I don't care which way round it is."

"All is well that ends well. I would definitely say that this has ended well," he smiled.

"It's isn't over yet. You have to hold my hand while I scream my head off."

"Silencing charm?"

"You still don't have permission," said Rose, Scorpius laughed.

"Come on, let's dance. We can just dance slowly, who cares if it's different?"

"Really?"

"Yeah, come on. I've got you, you'll be fine."

He lead Rose onto the dance floor and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her as close as was physically possible.

"You look amazing tonight," he whispered.

"So do you," said Rose, automatically. Scorpius chuckled and kissed her head. They danced in silence, through every slow and every fast song. Rose yawned.

"Come on, love. You're tired. We should get you home."

He went and said goodbye to the other guests, not that anyone was particularly concerned by their leaving. Champagne did that to people.

"Were we the only sober ones?" Rose whispered, as they headed up to their room.

"I think so," said Scorpius.

"Well, thanks for joining me in that."

"It's fine. If I was too drunk, you might have taken advantage of me."

"Behave yourself," chided Rose. Scorpius chuckled.

"The baby can't hear me. Can you little one?" he said, leaning over Rose's tummy. Rose rolled her eyes, and Scorpius smirked. He knew she hated it when people spoke to her stomach.

"Are you going to be beautiful like mummy?" he asked. This time Rose didn't roll her eyes. She gave him a shove.

"You know I hate that."

"Yeah," he said, kissing Rose again.

"I hope he or she is though," he said after a long pause. Long enough to confuse Rose.

"He or she is what?"

"As beautiful as mummy."

"Or daddy."

The perfect family," said Scorpius happily, rubbing the bump as Rose ran her fingers through his blonde hair.

The perfect family indeed.

**Thank you to RosexScorpius4ever, dyingbreed003, toolazytologin, Marauderette98, Condiotti, NinaCho and LillyMay77 for their reviews last week!**

**I also want to thank everyone reading, especially those show have been regular reviewers, because having your support has been amazing! Anyway, if anyone reading wants me to return the favour and read one of their stories, I would be really happy to!**

**XXX**


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